Making a Difference
by Anakin T Skywalker
Summary: Anakin learned a few things on his visit to earth; but can he put them to use and make a difference, or will he fall back into the same old pattern? Sequel to "Now, That's Different!" This really won't make a lot of sense unless you've read the first one.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Star Wars yet.**

Here it is, as promised – the sequel to "Now, That's Different!" I hope it satisfies your expectations, but be reminded – I am pre-writing, so suggestions made after individual chapters may or may not be taken, depending on whether it fits with my plan for the story. Reviews, however, are still welcome, so please feel free to take advantage of that feature of this web site!

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Anakin sat in the cockpit of his starfigter as the vehicle lifted away from the planet on which he had spent the last week. Bittersweet feelings swirled through his mind – he was leaving his new friends, who had been so kind to him, perhaps never to see them again. However, he was being taken by a close friend to rejoin other old friends – and someone dearer to him than all else: Padmé.

He suddenly remembered how much he missed her, and felt guilty for not missing her as much as he should have. But perhaps that was the beginning of the Dark Side in him already – he had been too preoccupied with himself to consider others. But then, he had to be concentrating on himself at this oh-so-crucial time, didn't he? He had to stay focused, keep his guard up, hold on tight to what he knew to keep himself from slipping down to the darkest of fates. Oh, it was so confusing! How could he tread a middle path between utter self-focus and complete oblivion?

The Jedi wanted him to balance the Force; but how was he supposed to balance the Force when he couldn't even balance himself?

His problem was confounded further by the remembrance of Jeff's advice that he inform Obi-wan of his issues. In the worst way, Anakin did not want to do it. It would possibly be the most unpleasant conversation of his life to that point. He wished he could find some way out of it. Then he remembered the inner strength and wisdom of the boy. The advice Jeff had given was good, solid; it just wasn't very much fun.

But then, neither was taking medicine; yet sometimes, that was necessary. Maybe that was the way to look at it. The confession would be like medicine to treat the darkness growing in his soul.

Anakin was ready, right there and then, to launch into his confession. His finger was on the comm dial to begin transmission to Obi-wan when he stopped himself. He couldn't do this in the middle of a flight! Obi-wan would freak out and lose control of his ship or something, and that could only end badly. He'd better wait until after they landed. And, he realized, until after he had spoken with Padmé. After all, she had some stake in the matter, too, and ought to have input on whether or not they told anyone of their "attachment."

He sighed. He hated unpleasant situations like this, but he hated delaying them even more; the longer a wait before one, the more time he had to dread it.

This was going to be much harder than he'd thought.

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They arrived on Coruscant two hours before their scheduled Council briefing. Anakin slipped away from Obi-wan as quickly as he could and headed straight for Padmé's apartment. He climbed out of his starfighter onto her private docking platform and rushed to her.

"Oh, Ani! I'm so glad you're back! There were rumors going around that you and Obi-wan had disappeared! I thought you were lost in space!"

Anakin was flabbergasted until it dawned on him that, of course, the council had not shared his strange tale with the rest of the galaxy.

"Angel, I will always come back to you," he soothed.

Quite suddenly, Anakin's mind was assaulted by an image of a fiery planet; Padmé standing there, clutching at her throat; and his own hand, twisting the Force to his wicked use.

He pulled away from her, momentarily feeling he was going to be sick, but the feeling passed. Instead, he felt his eyes filling with tears and his facial muscles contracting in an effort not to cry in front of her.

"Excuse me," he said thickly, and slipped into the refresher for privacy. For a few minutes, he indulged his need to weep, sobbing quietly into his hands. Then he composed himself as best he could, splashed water on his face, and went back to his wife.

She was waiting for him, concern evident on her perfect features. "Anakin, what's wrong?"

He scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head. "It's nothing. No, really. It's not important." He certainly intended to make sure it was not important!

Padmé looked at him, sadness and worry evident in her eyes. "Oh, Anakin, what is this war doing to you?" She flew to him and embraced him, laying her head on his chest. "Please, Ani. If there's something that's bothering you, please tell me about it. Don't leave me in the dark!"

Anakin blinked back tears again at the thought. "It's alright, my love. It's just I have something very serious to ask you."

Padmé pulled back to regard him. "Go on," she urged.

"I… I need to tell Obi-wan about… us."

Padmé sucked in her breath. "Anakin, that's a decision for you to make."

"But it will affect you, too. Your Senate career – if word gets out"—

"Then I will find some other way to serve the galaxy – or finally settle down like my family has been begging me to do for years," she said, offering him a bright smile.

As she continued, however, her smile faded. "I just wonder how sure you are that you want to do this. You know it will probably men the end of your career as a Jedi. Are you able to accept that?"

Anakin sighed, and turned away from her to stand, facing the window, his hands clasped behind his back in one of his favorite postures. After a moment of silence, he replied, "I'm sure with all my heart that I don't _want_ to do it. But I'm equally sure that I _have _to. I know what's at stake here; but I discovered something on my last mission, and I know that I have to tell him, no matter what the cost. And if it comes to a choice between the Jedi and you, well," he smiled at her fondly, then drew her to him again. "I made that choice two and a half years ago."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Star Wars.**

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Their time together passed all too quickly, and Anakin regretfully left his dear wife's apartment and sped back to make the Council briefing.

When he rushed to the Council chambers, the doors were already shut. He sighed and looked at his chrono, which he had determinedly ignored for the entirety of the trip, as if that would keep him from being late. Now, upon seeing the digital numbers, he grimaced. Those doors had been closed for almost fifteen minutes now. The Masters would _not_ be happy. He steeled himself, then placed both hands on the doors and pushed them open.

The room was silent. Anakin suddenly realized that he had just made a rather dramatic entrance into a meeting he was late for. _That_ had been stupid of him! This was not good.

"Skywalker," said Mace Windu, his tone gushing sarcasm. "Nice of you to join us."

Anakin bristled, but quickly remembered that whole "pride" talk he'd gotten from Steve. Just as swiftly, he recalled that he was truly at fault this time. He bowed his head contritely. "I apologize, Masters. I lost track of the time."

"Obviously."

Anakin's anger flared again. Here he was, trying to be humble and apologize, and look what it got him! Why couldn't they be satisfied with an apology and move on? Nothing he did was good enough for these Jedi. It took much more control to master himself this time and offer himself up again.

"It will not happen again," he managed in a low voice.

"See that it does not," continued the Korun Jedi Master. "Now, let us continue. We were speaking of the strange events that occurred on your latest mission. Obi-wan has just told his side of the story. I suggest you give us your perspective, Anakin. Tell us, what happened?"

Anakin quickly recapped how their hyperdrive rings had cut out and they had been left drifting in space before what they supposed was a black hole, how he had seen a blue flash and later, a display of blue light which was definitely related to the Force in some way. He recalled the way he had followed the light to a mysteriously undiscovered planet, landed his fighter, walked to town, and been taken in by a family of humans, with whom he had lived for a week before Obi-wan had returned with fuel to get them home. He left out the part about seeing his potential future in the _Star Wars_ films; he really didn't need them to know about that yet.

When he had finished his account, Yoda spoke. "Strange and disturbing this is. It seems that young Skywalker and Kenobi have encountered something that among the Jedi is known as a Force hole. A bridge between times and places otherwise inaccessible. Appear only in the time of great danger and great need, they do."

Anakin felt his face burn red. _He_ was the impending danger that had caused the appearance of a Force hole. No wonder they didn't trust him! Even though they probably didn't know, they had surely felt something by now. He remembered Yoda's initial assessment of him: "I sense much fear in you." Yes, all along they had sensed the disaster waiting to happen that was Anakin Skywalker. It mortified him that the Force had to go to such drastic measures to keep him on the right path.

He was so wrapped up in his own shame that he heard no more of the meeting until Obi-wan's voice came along their bond and broke into his consciousness.

"Anakin! Coruscant to Anakin! Yoda has asked you a question!" Obi-wan's tone betrayed a hint of amusement, as well as astonishment that Anakin could be so airheaded.

Anakin colored still deeper with embarrassment. He'd completely zoned out during a Council meeting! This was not going well.

"A week, you spent on this new planet. A threat to the Republic, is it, in your mind? Hostile is it, or friendly? Or neutral?"

"It seems to me to be neutral, at least for now. They've heard of the Republic and the Jedi, but most of them apparently don't believe we exist."

"Observe any military strength, did you?"

"No. Also, their technology is primitive. They still use television, like in the museums, and two-dimensional images instead of holograms. For the most part, they are limited to ground transportation, and have no passenger interplanetary capabilities at all. That's why I had to send Obi-wan after some more fuel; they don't have anything suitable for starfighters."

" 'Sending' him you should not be," grumbled Yoda. "Though a Knight you are, Kenobi is still your superior. Respect you must show! For him and for other Masters!"

Now they were going to haggle over Anakin's choice of words? And they just couldn't let the fact that he was late go, could they? He sighed, and battled to keep his defensive attitude in check and his mouth shut.

"What else did you observe?"

Anakin thought back over what he knew. "Uhhm… well… uhh, they put tiny lights on their trees, some of which they keep in their houses, they dance on boots with blades on ice, and they eat mostly mushy food."

The Council members stared at him in disbelief. "That's all you managed to observe?" asked Ki-Adi-Mudi incredulously. "That is the most useless information you could possibly have given us."

Anakin sucked in his breath. "Nevertheless, that is all I learned for sure. I spent most of my time in one location and observed only what could be seen in a single household."

This was not good; the Jedi Masters were plainly disappointed with Anakin's report. It was true that the things he had revealed to them were inconsequential, but Anakin was not yet prepared to tell them any of the important things he had learned! Imagine what they would think of him then! Anakin wasn't even sure he would tell Obi-wan what he had learned of his future; he'd made no promises about that. Already he dreaded telling his Master about Padmé and about the incident in the Tusken camp. What would Obi-wan think of him then? And it would certainly get back to the Council; then, what would happen?

Most likely, Anakin's career as a Jedi would end. That was a very painful thought; being a Jedi had been his dream, and his mother's dream for him. What would he do when they expelled him? He would have no income, and Padmé would be found out and retired from the Senate, eliminating her income as well. He had a horrible vision of himself and Padmé out on the streets, penniless, scoffed at, made fun of, criticized for their secret relationship. The heights to which they had already risen would make their fall all the more devastating. The gossips of the galaxy would tear them to shreds; the names "Skywalker" and "Amidala", once spoken with admiration, would be associated with dishonesty and indecency. They would be looked down upon by every citizen of the galaxy as burning examples of what not to be. The shame and humiliation of it weighed down upon him; the desperation of being unable to protect Padmé from the insults that would be hurled at them… the thought of it was unbearable. For himself, he did not so much care – he'd been treated badly before, as a slave – but Padmé did not deserve the disgrace and rejection and scorn that would come their way. The very idea of his dear, good, beautiful wife being despised by the galaxy she had spent so much of her life serving brought tears to Anakin's eyes.

The ungrateful jerks! If he could, he'd go out there right now and teach them all what—

"Skywalker. Skywalker!"

He was yanked out of his dark train of thought by Mace Windu's sharp, accusing voice. Anakin was surprised to find real tears in his eyes and feel his face growing hot from the effort of holding them back. He found that Obi-wan had placed a hand on his arm and was looking at him with deep concern. "Anakin," he said gently, as though trying to call him back from somewhere far away.

"Where is your mind today?" barked Master Windu. "We have been trying to get your attention for the last several minutes! Do you feel that this meeting is not important enough to warrant your full attention? Are we _boring_ you?" he added in a slightly mocking tone.

It was too much for Anakin to take just then. Anger rose in him at the Council's self-importance. If the pompous fools only knew what lay ahead –

The image of Jedi being slaughtered by clones under his command came to Anakin's mind, followed by one of the Temple younglings lying dead, their bodies strewn thoughtlessly about the halls. The anger receded like a wave after breaking on shore, and a new wave of shame and hurt washed in to take its place. Anakin's eyes were drowning in tears just as his soul was suddenly drowning in guilt and pain. His face grew visibly red as he tried to keep the flood from escaping.

"What have you to say for yourself?" Master Windu was relentless.

Anakin took a shallow, shuddering breath. "I – I … sorry… don't know… my mind, wandering…" he stuttered, trying to say something that made sense without bursting into tears in the process of speaking.

He would not cry in front of the entire Jedi Council, he would not cry in front of the Jedi Council, he would not cry in front of the Council…

He repeated the refrain over and over again in his mind, trying to focus all of his energy on the words instead of the action, but he just barely kept the tears at bay. One tear escaped and slipped slowly down his cheek.

The tear gleaming on his red face did not go unnoticed. "Anakin, what is the matter?" asked Stass Allie, her tone less sharp than Mace Windu's but still rather stern.

Obi-wan looked, if possible, still more concerned than before. "Anakin," he asked gently, "are you well?"

Anakin couldn't answer; he simply shielded his eyes with his mechanical right hand, ashamed.

Obi-wan put a comforting hand behind Anakin's back. "Allow me to apologize for him, Masters. He seems to be a little unwell. I believe he is still overwhelmed and exhausted from our mission, and request permission to take him back to his quarters to rest."

Mace looked skeptical, but Yoda was nodding slightly. Mace frowned, but said resignedly, "Permission granted. He's useless to us in this condition."

Obi-wan led Anakin from the room and guided him back towards his quarters. As they walked through the halls, Obi-wan said dryly, "You can thank me for getting you out of that later by telling me what is going on. You show up twenty minutes late to a Council meeting that you knew was coming, and once you do arrive, you allow your mind to wander all over the galaxy, give them only useless information, and disgrace yourself by weeping in front if them! What is going on?"

They had reached Anakin's room; Anakin unlocked the door, and Obi-wan guided him inside. "All right, Anakin. Tell me, what is troubling you so?"

This was the time to tell him; this was Anakin's opportunity. He opened his mouth – and then shut it again. It was just too hard, too painful right now. How could he tell his Master what he had done when all of the horrible things he had yet to do were crowding his mind?

Anakin collapsed onto his bed, his shoulders shaking with silent weeping. "I – I – I can't," he cried. Obi-wan stood helplessly by as Anakin sobbed, as quietly as he could, into his pillow.

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Lame chapter ending? Yeah, I know. Anakin's at the beginning of a rather tough time. Give us a break.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: No, really! Star Wars isn't mine!**

I have just remembered that I had written several chapters ahead and didn't need to wait until I finished the one I am working on right now in order to post. I can't believe that I forgot about it and left you guys hanging while I struggled with this other chapter. I am deeply sorry for the late update; now, if you'll excuse me…

I have had a lot of comments about the fact that, in the last chapter, all of the Jedi Council Members were kind of sort of… acting like total jerks. It's true! I have intentionally made them more jerk-ish than in the movie, particularly in this instance. As they expressed, they are more than a little worried (cough! Paranoid) about this new planet being hostile to the Republic and having unknown technology. Also, they are, in this instance, intentionally putting a little pressure on Anakin because, as always, they are concerned by his lack of emotional control. In other words, they're testing him. They don't know what other pressure he's under, and they see his breaking down as a different kind of loss of control, although all of them were surprised that he didn't get angry and riled up instead. They are trying to produce in Anakin the emotional control necessary to be a Master. So, you can cut them a little slack -- like maybe a millimeter! Just know that I am writing them that way on purpose.

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It was nearly a half hour before Anakin's sobs began to subside. He sat up and wiped his eyes, then sighed and leaned his head into his hand. Obi-wan came to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Anakin, please tell me what's bothering you. If you don't, I can't help you – none of us can. You're all on your own unless you let someone know what's wrong." Obi-wan's concern was evident in his voice.

Dread gathered into a neuranium ball that settled in Anakin's stomach. It was time to tell Obi-wan. Every part of his mind fought it, but he had promised. Besides, Jeff had said it was important to his success in avoiding the Dark Side.

Anakin took a deep breath. "Obi-wan," he said, trying to appear calm in spite of his tear-streaked face. "I should have told you this a long time ago, but… Padmé and I are married."

Anakin had braced himself for a scolding lecture, but none was forthcoming – mostly due to the fact that Obi-wan, upon hearing the news, had dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

Well, _that_ had gone well! Anakin scrambled to get some water and set to work trying to revive his old Master. He took the flimsi cup he had filled with water in his right hand and grabbed his washcloth off its rack with his left, intending to dip the cloth in the water and brush it over Obi-wan's face; but in his agitation, he inadvertently squeezed the cup too hard and crushed it, splashing the water all over Obi-wan's face and tunic. Obi-wan jerked, then coughed and sputtered and finally opened his eyes.

"Aggh, Anakin, are you trying to drown me?"

"I'm sorry, Master," said Anakin, chagrined at his mistake. "I was just trying to help." Those words had become a refrain of sorts for him; it seemed like he was always saying them. No matter what he tried to do, it always came out wrong in somebody's eyes. It made him marvel at the fact that he hadn't had to say it once while at Jeff's house.

Obi-wan sat up gingerly. "What happened, anyway?" he said; then he suddenly recalled. His face paled again, and his eyes widened, but this time he ducked his head between his knees. A few moments later, he sat up again.

Ever so calmly, he stated, "So you married Padmé. Anakin, _why in the galaxy did you do that?!!!!_"

"Because I love her, Master," said Anakin. He felt somewhat hurt; did Obi-wan think he would jeopardize his career for anything less?

"Love, which is forbidden – or had you forgotten?" said Obi-wan sarcastically. "Oh yes, I know – you can't control your feelings. You never could. That's the reason you're not a Master right now." He sighed in exasperation. "How long have you been married? You've been a Knight for almost a month now – did you wait a few weeks after your Knighting, or did you break the code right away?"

"We were married two and a half years ago. On Naboo. When you sent me to escort her there after the battle of Geonosis. Remember?" Anakin spoke shortly to try to hide the fact that Obi-wan's sharp words were tearing him up. He'd known Obi-wan wouldn't be happy, but somehow he had managed to deceive himself into thinking it wouldn't be as bad as he'd thought.

Instantly, however, he regretted his disrespect, and focused on calming himself and keeping his attitude under control. He reminded himself that he was in the wrong, and that there would be much worse consequences awaiting him than Obi-wan's sharp tongue.

Obi-wan had more to say. "Oh, that's even better! You broke the code before you even became a Knight, and then you accepted your Knighthood! Anakin, this was a terrible mistake! The Council will expel you for this!"

Anakin bit back a tense reply with difficulty; he'd heard this threat a billion times if he'd heard it once. Then he realized that the reason Obi-wan was so upset was that he cared about Anakin and valued his friendship and would miss him if he were expelled for the Order.

"Only if you tell them," he replied sadly.

"How can I do otherwise? As a Jedi and a member of the Council, it is my duty to inform them of what you have done."

Anakin's mind screamed _'Betrayal'!_ How could Obi-wan be so unwaveringly loyal to the Council, despite the situation it would force Anakin into? He felt the tears starting to come again, but pushed them away back where they belonged. It took a great effort, but he finally managed to control his emotions, recalling again that his predicament was his own fault, not Obi-wan's. Had he chosen to abide by the Council's rules, as unthinkable as that was for him when considering his love, he would not have this problem right now. He reminded himself quickly of Padmé; she was worth all the pain and hardship that was surely coming.

"Anakin, surely you can't have expected me to keep this from the Council?"

Anakin sighed in resignation. "No, I suppose not." He suddenly wanted to be done with this unpleasant conversation – but he wasn't quite finished. There was more he had to tell, and it was even worse than his first secret. His mind revolted at the thought of recalling it yet again, especially for Obi-wan's ears, and he nearly backed out – but he had promised Jeff.

"Ummmm, Obi-wan?" he said, trying to ignore the dread and fear that gripped him. "Th-there's something else I should probably tell you, too, as long as we're talking about these things."

Obi-wan sighed. "Yes, what else are you hiding from us?"

Anakin grimaced. "Maybe you should sit down."

Deep concern shadowed Obi-wan's face. "Oh, no. Already I don't like the sound of this."

Anakin took a deep breath. "Remember how, for a while, I had those dreams about my mother?"

"Yes."

"Well…" Anakin launched into his story about how he had come to late to save his mother and she had died in his arms, and how he had massacred the Tusken raiders because of it. By the time he finished, large, scalding tears were slowly dripping down Anakin's cheeks again – tears of both grief and shame over his atrocious act. He could not bring himself to look at Obi-wan, who had remained silent through the account.

Finally, the older Jedi spoke. "Anakin, what is to be done with you? How could you disregard everything you have been taught and annihilate an entire village? I am deeply disappointed in you. And to hide these things for the past two and a half years, and accept Knighthood in spite of them? I simply cannot believe you have lied to us all this time. Is there anything else we should know before I am forced to inform the Council of these issues?"

"No," replied Anakin dutifully, hanging his head.

Obi-wan softened his tone just a little. "I can see that you are penitent; that will work in your favor. However," he continued grimly, "these are huge offenses, and I think it unlikely that the Council will overlook them. Prepare your mind; you will most likely be asked to leave the Order."

Anakin simply nodded, not looking up.

"I must go now and tell the Council of this – unless you wish to tell them yourself"—

Anakin shook his head.

"Very well, then, I will tell them, and we will most likely be called to appear before them together tomorrow morning. In the meantime, may I suggest you get some rest? You do look tired; I think perhaps that excuse I gave for you to the Council might not have been entirely inaccurate."

Obi-wan went out, and Anakin was alone in his room. He _was_ tired, but didn't think he'd be able to sleep with so much on his mind. He lay down on his bed anyway, mostly because Obi-wan had told him to; perhaps he could at least get some rest.

And Obi-wan still cared about him, and perhaps would forgive him for his deception. That gave Anakin the peace of mind necessary to allow sleep to overtake him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Not I Star Wars own do.**

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Anakin woke up with a heavy heart. This was the day he would go before the Jedi Council, and the day he would be expelled from the Jedi Order. Already Obi-wan would have told them about Padmé and about the Tusken raiders. They had probably already decided his fate. They would request his presence at the Council meeting this morning, and there he would surrender his lightsaber and be cast out in disgrace. There his dream would end, and the life he had led for twelve and a half years would come to a close.

Twelve and a half years! The length of time appalled him. That was more than half of his life – and now, it was useless. Wasted. Years spent working toward a goal that he was now going to give up forever. He felt like crying again.

The doubts and worries that assailed him did nothing to make him feel better. Yesterday's questions about what he would do to provide for Padmé arose again. He tried to calm himself and be rational. He was, after all, a gifted mechanic and pilot – it should be easy for him to find work. And that had been his dream even before he heard of the Jedi!

But he would no longer be the hero of the Republic; no matter how good he was at it, being a mechanic or pilot just didn't hold the same honor, glory, and pride that being a Jedi had. Being a Jedi was special; only those strong in the Force could join their ranks. And speaking of that -- what _would_ Anakin do with his immense Force sensitivity?

Suddenly, Anakin recognized his pride starting to take over again. Remembering what Steve had told him, he fought to push it back. If he ignored the lower status of a non-Jedi job, his options were actually quite good. Besides, if he wanted to be a Jedi only for the recognition it earned him, then he wasn't even fit to be a Jedi at all. Being a Jedi should be about helping people; if that were the case, then what did it matter if he served the galaxy by protecting them with a lightsaber or by fixing their ships? Maybe he could even build his own ships – start a new manufacturing company. He'd make better, faster ships than Sienar Advance Projects Lab! Then he'd have plenty of credits to support his wife – and the child she carried, or soon would carry.

By the time he had made himself presentable, he was able to accept the changes that were about to occur in his life. He found himself in a rare state of calm, one that he had often tried to achieve as a Jedi but usually eluded him.

He waited outside the Council chambers for a long time, wondering if they had forgotten, then quickly dismissing the thought. There was simply no way the Council could forget something as monumental as his deeds. They must still be talking over what to do with him. Hope blossomed in his heart that if they had taken this long to decide, they might make a final decision in his favor after all! But he quickly quenched that notion . What he had done was unforgivable in the eyes of the Jedi.

After a few more minutes, however, he could no longer stand the suspense. He steeled himself and gently knocked on the door. There was silence for a moment, then Master Windu's voice, muffled by the door, demanded, "Who is there?"

He took a deep breath. "Anakin Skywalker," he answered in a clear voice that belied the emotional turmoil he felt inside.

There was a moment's hesitation. "Enter," came the command. Was that confusion in Windu's voice? Anakin slowly, gently pushed the doors open, walked to the center of the room, and bowed respectfully. The eyes of each Master were focused on him, but he didn't feel the resentment and censure he had expected to feel. Perhaps they were masking their emotions; that would be typical of the Jedi.

"Something to say, have you, young Skywalker?" inquired Master Yoda after full minute of silence.

Anakin was puzzled and caught off guard. "Uhhhm, no! Master! Uhhhm…." He looked at Obi-wan. "Master?"

Obi-wan's face betrayed nothing; his expression was as unreadable as it was unusual.

Not knowing quite what to do, Anakin decided to be bold. "Uh, well…" he cleared his throat. "Actually, I thought you might have something to say to me!"

Anakin was suddenly bombarded by waves of suspicion. He could feel resentment, even perhaps shock and outrage from some of the Masters.

"Cocky, arrogant _young_ Skywalker!" Ki-Adi-Mundi admonished him sternly. "You dishonor your Master's work in training you! To come charging in here, demanding an apology!"

Anger boiled in Anakin's chest. He had expected to be taken to task for his wrongs, but to be reprimanded for something he hadn't done was too much! Recoiling in stunned anger, he exclaimed indignantly, "An apology!!? Who said anything about an apology!!?"

Mace Windu patted the air with his hands. "Peace, Masters. Calm yourself, young Skywalker. You are the one who needs to explain yourself. Did you not come here seeking an apology for our somewhat harsh treatment of you during yesterday's debriefing?"

Anakin would have laughed under other circumstances. "What? No!! Why would I do that? No offense, but how idiotic do you think I am? I know better than to pull that kind of thing, especially here!"

Master Windu's voice took on an edge. He clearly didn't care for Anakin's attitude, despite the intent behind his words. Anakin told himself to tone it down, to not lose control no matter what they did. He would show them who was a Jedi! He would harness his emotions and display perfect control from here on out! He would make them wish they could break their own code and keep him in the Order!

Windu's tense voice broke his thoughts. "Why did you come here, then?"

Anakin's jaw dropped in astonishment. "D-didn't you request my presence?" he managed.

The tension faded, and all around the room, Council members exchanged bemused looks.

Mace Windu's expression turned condescending. He spoke as if Anakin were a small child. "Tell me, Skywalker. Who told you that you were needed at this council session?"

"No one," Anakin replied, confused. "I knew when I woke up that you'd be summoning me."

"Oh, you did? Why did you think that?"

Anakin was about to reply, but Obi-wan beat him to it. "Oh, he must have had one of his dreams again," said Obi-wan noncommittally. "He must have dreamed it and assumed it would happen, like some of his other ones. Or else he's not quite awake yet and is still half dreaming." He chuckled a little, as if Anakin were a bit slow.

Anakin gaped. What was going on? And now his Master was joining them all in treating him like he was one wing short of a starfighter?

"Suffering adverse effects from his time on the new planet, he is!" said Yoda in a tone that sounded almost cheerful, which meant he was amused. "Take him to the infirmary, Obi-wan, and see if he needs medical attention!"

Anakin started to protest, but to his astonishment, Obi-wan quickly stated, "I think that is a very good idea."

"But"—

"Come on, Anakin!" And Obi-wan all but took Anakin by the shoulders and marched him out of the Council chamber and down the hall.

"They… didn't… call me? Us?" said Anakin softly as they marched.

"Oh, what tipped you off?" Obi-wan said sarcastically. "Here I go trying to do you a favor, and you come in there and nearly botch it up! And you kept going, even when I tried to cover for you on that! Honestly, Anakin, _did_ you leave your brain back on that other planet?"

Then the truth dawned, and Anakin stared at Obi-wan in wonderment.

"You… didn't tell…" He was having a hard time believing it; Obi-wan was always a perfect Jedi!

"No, I didn't tell, but if you're going to keep this up, I might wish I had!" Obi-wan was smiling now. "Now, I suppose I have to take you to the infirmary, but after they find nothing wrong with you, I think you should pretend to rest a little more, just for appearances. I don't care what you do with your time, but you should be inconspicuous for at least an hour. And please, do try to refrain from telling any Jedi Council members about things, for the time being at least. Of course, had I known you were so desperate to fill them in," he teased.

"But, Master… why?"

Obi-wan smiled in that funny way of his which meant he didn't really want to smile. "Oh, I don't know. It's just that I think the Council has chewed on you enough for a few days, and I don't feel like giving them more reason than usual. I had every intention of telling them when I left you last night. But all the way there, I just kept feeling more and more strongly that it was wrong, that I shouldn't do it. And then, it was like I heard someone say,_ it is not the right time. _It seems as if it was not the will of the Force for them to know just yet. Besides, well… I just don't know what I'd do here without you to torment and worry me."

"But... isn't it your duty to tell them?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't tell them, I have simply decided not to right now," said Obi-wan, adopting a sly expression worthy of Anakin himself when making mischief.

Anakin could hardly believe that proper Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi had kept his secret from the Council! He was beginning to think that perhaps Obi-wan did care about him after all! And he had obviously forgiven Anakin for his deceit and his wanton slaughter of the Tusken Raiders. It overwhelmed Anakin's mind that Obi-wan could be so caring and forgiving. It was a side of Obi-wan that he saw but rarely – but it was a welcome sight.

They were coming to a more populated section of the Temple, so neither of them could afford to act unusual, but Anakin sent through the Force the message that he whispered on his lips.

"Thank you, Master. Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Own Star Wars, I do not.**

I realize that it has been too long since I last updated, but I have a lot going on right now. In fact, I have yet another story that is assaulting me to be written, two more in the works, and one that lacks its final chapter, in addition to school, which is very time-consuming this part of the semester. Also, I have been hard put to it to write chapters of an appropriate length. So, I am abandoning my original intended update schedule for now and will be posting only when I have completed a chapter or two ahead.

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Anakin actually intended to "be inconspicuous" for a great deal longer than an hour. Obi-wan left him at his room, saying that he would tell the Council that the Healers had found nothing wrong with Anakin but that he was extraordinarily weary from the trip to the strange planet and that he was having trouble differentiating between his dreams and reality. Anakin shuddered, recalling how close to the truth that could come.

To Obi-wan, he said, "Tell them I was sick while I was visiting the planet."

Obi-wan raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, it's true," he said, blushing a little. "I was sick. I was down for a couple of days. It was only a common illness, but my resistance was down."

"So, when I told them you were overtired, it was partially true."

"Maybe," said Anakin, his face clouding as the real reason fro his distress slid to the front of his mind again.

Obi-wan watched Anakin for a moment. "I can see there's more to this story," he finally said, a little reproachfully. "And I have been wondering – why is it that you have held what you told me last night inside for two and a half years, and all of a sudden it bothers you so much you can't stand it and burst into tears in front of the Jedi Council? It never seemed to bother you so much before." He was silent for a moment; then he spoke again. "Something happened to you down there, didn't it?" he said, a knowing look in his eyes. "Something happened on that planet that has you all upset. I won't force you to tell me about it if you don't want to, but if you need to talk about it, I'm here." He looked into Anakin's eyes for a moment, and Anakin had the eerie feeling that Obi-wan was reading his soul. Then he turned away and left Anakin to his own devices.

In order to be "inconspicuous," Anakin checked to make sure the coast was clear, then sprinted to the hangar and took off for the apartment of his beloved wife. She would be at the Senate at this hour, but he would go anyway, to bask in the Force-echoes of her presence and hope that by some chance, she would come home early.

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Anakin had not planned on staying the night, but once Padmé returned, one thing led to another, and the next thing they knew, it was nearly three in the morning by Coruscant standard time. They had spent the entire afternoon together for once, and Anakin didn't want it to end. Neither did Padmé; so Anakin simply removed his outer tunics and crawled into the bed next to his wife. After all, he was sure that the Jedi wouldn't be calling for him until tomorrow – well, later today, really.

He was awakened by his comlink at four. "Uhh, I am… uh, I'm at, uhh… wait…no. Uhhhm, Skywalker here," he yawned into the small device.

"Come quickly, Anakin!" said Obi-wan's voice. "Mrisst has been invaded, and they want you and me there as soon as possible! I'll have your starfighter ready, and we'll leave as soon as you get here."

"How did you know I was gone?" asked Anakin.

"I know you too well," was Obi-wan's reply. "Now, please, hurry! We may already be too late to stop the planet from falling, but we must not lose it to the Separatists. If it is taken when we arrive, we will have to take it back. It's natural resources are nearly nonexistent, but it is strategically located; it's near one of the main jump points from the Mid Rim."

"Oh, good," groaned Anakin wearily. After all he had been through, he was going to be torn away from Padmé and sent off to battle again – in the middle of the night! "Ugh. I'll be there in a few minutes," he said, already collecting his belongings and pulling on his boots, a task which proved more difficult than he had expected. He turned off the comlink and went over to Padmé. He hated to wake her, but he wouldn't leave without letting her know what was going on.

"Angel, I have to leave," he told her. "I just got a call. They need me to go save Mrisst. If we're in time, I could be back in a few days. If we have to retake it, it will be weeks. I'm so sorry, Padmé. I grudge every hour I'm away from you. May the Force be with you to protect you – my thoughts will be."

She reached up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down onto the bed. "Oh, Anakin," she sighed. "I miss you so much. Hurry back!"

He returned her embrace, clasping her body close to his before gently lowering her back to the bed and using just a touch of the Force to see that she returned immediately to a deep, restful slumber. Then he gathered the last of his things, buckled his belt on, slung his cloak over his shoulders, and was off to the Jedi Temple. He met Obi-wan in the hangar, hopped into his starfighter, and took his place in the fighter formation.

While on the way out of the atmosphere, Obi-wan briefed him on the situation. "It was a surprise attack, mounted from what we thought were simply cargo ships. By the time our soldiers noticed that there were an awful lot of them for regular shipments, it was too late; they already had made planetfall with cargoes of battle droids and destroyers. We believe they are using living commanders, mostly Neimoidians but probably a few humans as well. They seem to be concentrated on one side of the planet, most likely because the cities, such as they are, are located there. The cities are really more like villages, but they are placed around the only known water source on the planet. The planet was originally uninhabited, but there is a small population now, mostly those who are disabled in some way and have chosen to exile themselves from the rest of society. The Republic also had a small outpost there, but it has almost certainly been swept away. We will have our work cut out for us; the occupying Separatist force is not large, but it will still be difficult to dislodge them once they are entrenched. Also, we will have to carry our own food in, for, although they have water that is safe to drink, nothing that is known to be edible grows on Mrisst. We don't think they have anti-fighter lasers on the planet yet, so our plan is to take out the small portion of their fleet that they have left in the sky, locate and bomb their headquarters, then divide our forces and come together, like the walls of a trash compactor. They won't run out in between us because the commanders can't go far from the water supply. We are bringing greater numbers than the Separatists have at this time, and we may hope that there will be some survivors of the initial attack to swell our forces and allow us to divide them into two fronts without the risk of being flanked or overrun. It should not be a difficult battle so long as we take out their headquarters and they are not reinforced – and we arrive before they have time to fortify their positions.

By this point, they were ready to make the jump to hyperspace, so they ended their conversation. As the ships sped through a tunnel of stars that quickly gave way to the blue mist of hyperspace, Anakin already felt a headache developing behind his eyes.

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Despite meditation and rest, Anakin's headache had actually gotten worse by the time they came out of hyperspace. It was not helped at all by the transmission that came in from the Council.

Apparently, there had been no further contact from the clones who had been guarding Mrisst, and all attempts to contact them had failed, most likely meaning they had been completely wiped out. Not that a few more troopers would have made such a crucial difference in the battle; it was just disheartening to know that the Republic presence on the world had been completely obliterated.

As they came around the planet to where the Separatist fleet waited, Anakin got a good look at it. It was entirely brown, like Tatooine; only instead of sand-brown, this was dried, dead grass-brown. It looked dreary.

And then they were upon the Separatist fleet.

The space battle was actually almost boringly easy; the Seps had sent only two large ships, and while tri-droids and starfighters abounded, it took only an hour and a half to completely destroy every single Separatist craft. Anakin relaxed, and his headache dulled a little bit. Perhaps this battle would be an easy one after all!

"Why do you suppose they sent so few ships?" Anakin wondered aloud.

"I would guess they simply expected that this planet would be easy to take and hold, just as we did when we placed such a small garrison there to defend it. Also, they arrived mostly in supply ships, which are a common sight on a planet which requires that everything be imported. This gave them the element of surprise as well as adding more to the fleet we just… annihilated."

Anakin grinned halfheartedly. "That was so easy it almost doesn't count," he said.

Obi-wan then advised him about the next steps of the plan he had worked out with the clone commanders before leaving Coruscant, informed him about the location of the rations that were stored in his fighter, and gave him the coordinates of the rendezvous point for his half of the army. Then they were off again on their bombing run.

As the squadrons of brand-new ARC-170s came closer to the planet's surface, Anakin saw that the continuous brown was marred by a large plume of white cloud, and reasoned that the water sources must be located in that area: therefore, so would the Separatists. Anakin flew his blue starfighter at the head of the formation of clones and led them all down the gravity well and into the atmosphere. They went into the clouds and tried to drop below them, but they simply went down and down. Finally, Anakin spotted a patch of darkness below him; then the clouds swirled away and he saw that he was in a only perhaps ten meters above the ground.

"Pull up, pull up!" he commed to his clone pilots. "The clouds go straight down to the ground!"

His warning came too late for two of the pilots, who tore through the fog and plummeted into the ground and exploded. Anakin bit back a curse. Two down and they hadn't even reached civilization yet! Not that he would have known, in this fog. It was nearly impossible to see!

He brought his fighter back to a safe level; a few minutes later, he began to see shapes on the ground, rising out of the gloom. Brown, oblong, and irregularly shaped, they looked to be about the kind of building one would find on a planet like this.

"I'm guessing those are the settlers, not the Separatists. They'd never use one of those decrepit things as their headquarters." Indeed, none of them were even large enough to house all of the Separatist leaders.

It was a perhaps ten minutes after that that he saw something different; a boxy gray rectangular structure. That had to be one of the Separatist's pre-fabricated buildings.

"I've found one!" he called. "I don't know which is headquarters, so bomb anything that looks like that gray box – but please try not to hit any civilian targets. I don't think the galaxy look kindly on us if we kill a bunch of disabled people."

"We'll do our best in this mist," came a reply from one of the clone pilots.

"At least it means they can't see us and we'll have the element of surprise!" said Anakin, trying to be positive.

The near-miss energy bolt that rattled his cockpit less than a second later brought him to a realization of two things.

The first was that he was wrong and the Separatists could indeed see them, despite the cloud and fog and mist.

The second came more fully when he realized that the shot had been from the ground to the sky. That meant Obi-wan was also wrong.

The Separatists _did_ have anti-fighter guns.


	6. Chapter 6

**Wars Star own not do I Disclaimer:**

Reviews keep me from turning to the Dark Side!

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The clouds flashed with the many laser bolts that ripped through them, reaching eagerly for the starfighters. Anakin was able to dodge them all, but the other members of his squadron weren't so lucky. Without the aid of the Force to show them safe pathways, they were practically raining down from the sky. This close to the ground, Anakin could feel the shock waves from the impacts shuddering through his fighter. Anakin checked his computer coordinates; they told him he should be nearing the known location of the prefabricated bunker which served the Separatists as headquarters. He looked out the canopy of his cockpit, but the mist still obscured everything. Anakin flew on blindly, and yet not without seeing; he tapped into the Force more strongly, and it warned him of what was on the ground or in his way. He tried to latch onto a signal that was concentrated and large, knowing that would be the headquarters.

Just as he thought he had found it, Obi-wan's voice came over the tactical net. "Pull out, Anakin, pull out! They're ripping us to pieces, and there's nothing we can do! We'll just have to land our ships and skip straight to the land assault. Pull your men out of there before you lose all of them!"

The thought of failing to take out the main headquarters and leave the Separatists free to communicate and plot and plan with each other galled Anakin, but he recognized the truth of Obi-wan's words, and gave the order for his men to pull out. He had been so close, though, to finding that bunker. Without even thinking about it he continued on, searching for the bunker with his mind. "Go on, pull out. I'll join you shortly."

Suddenly, there it was: the Separatist bunker. Anakin quickly worked through how much it would take to destroy it. If he swooped down low, then the prefabricated building would collapse with only a few proton torpedoes at the right spots. Having made his best Force-assisted guess, he angled his fighter down toward the structure, focusing all of his attention on that point.

That turned out to be a mistake; just as he sent the torpedoes toward their mark, his fighter jarred violently and lurched to the right. He'd been hit! He fought to gain control of his ship, but he was almost immediately hit again. The fighter went into a slow spin, and Anakin caught a brief, upside-down glimpse of the building collapsing in flames. Seconds later, the energy wave from the explosion slammed into his cockpit, wresting away the flimsy control he had over the ship

And he was falling. He tried frantically to regain control, but the controls of the starfighter were useless. The ground was quickly getting closer, and he had to figure out how to save himself before he crashed. He quickly determined that a crash was inevitable, and drained all the fuel from the fuel tanks to keep it from igniting on impact.

He knew the impact would come, but he still wasn't expecting it when the ship slammed into the ground in a shower of water and loose rock. His body was jarred viciously, and he felt his already aching forehead connect with the steering apparatus as his vehicle flipped over and landed heavily right side up. Then he blacked out and didn't feel anything at all.

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Upon first awakening, Anakin thought he was dead, but he quickly dismissed that notion; if he were dead, then the fact that he was conscious would have indicated that he was in some sort of afterlife. And, while the Jedi had taught him nothing about any such afterlife, it did seem unlikely that he should enter it while still strapped into the seat of his starfighter, which he currently was. Slowly the details of the crash came back to him. He had accomplished the goal for their bombing run, but now he was lost, separated from his troops on a strange planet, and definitely in hostile territory. Also, it seemed that, for whatever reason, he was unable to see. He momentarily panicked at the thought that he might be blind; then it occurred to him to actually open his eyes. He did, only to find that, though his eyesight was undamaged, the planet's pale, pathetic sun was halfway below the horizon, its last rays barely visible through the thick mist.

He decided that it would be better to extricate himself from is wrecked fighter before he had no more light to work with; already the interior of the vehicle was filled with darkness. He reached around until he found the release for his safety harness, and he was free to move. He sat up straight on his seat and instantly regretted it. His head throbbed brutally, and a wave of nausea swept through his midsection and up his throat. He sat still and breathed slowly and deeply until it passed, then reached into the Force to examine himself for injuries. Fortunately, he found that he did not have an actual concussion, though he was badly shaken up. He'd begun this mission with a bad headache; being hit on the head only added throbbing on the surface to the pounding deep inside. He was tempted to feel the painful area with his fingers, but knew that would only make it hurt worse.

He sat up once more and attempted to activate his comlink, which didn't appear to be damaged, but the pain crescendoed once again, and his stomach churned violently. Frantically, he fumbled for the controls that would open the cockpit and let him out, but once again, the feeling passed away and he relaxed a bit. He searched the pockets in his belt for some medication to keep his pain from spiking every time he moved; he found a couple of pain pills and gulped them down, almost gagging on the taste without any water to help him swallow them. In only moments, however, he felt the pain recede, and he was able to concentrate on the task at hand. The interior of the vehicle was becoming very hot and stuffy, so Anakin decided that his next step should be to let some air in and make it possible for him to get out. The control to pop the canopy on the fighter didn't work, so Anakin pulled out his lightsaber, which was also undamaged, and sheared the transparisteel off. He used the Force to move it off the fighter, then climbed out onto some of the strangest terrain he had ever seen in his life.

His boots splashed into water that was very, very warm, and he looked down to see that he was standing in a small, teardrop-shaped pool of water. It was less than a meter in diameter and perhaps fifteen centimeters deep, with walls that looked to be about ten centimeters wide. Anakin hurriedly jumped over the short wall – the water was really uncomfortably warm – and landed in another pool, almost exactly like the first one!

Anakin looked around, perplexed. Wherever the mist was thinner, he could see the pale greenish moonlight reflecting of thousands and thousands of identical pools. They all had an odd, teardrop-like shape, though it was distorted in places so that the pools fit together, like the scales of a fish. Here and there among the pools, a few small buildings stood, raised on stilts above the water surface, the remains of an apparently abandoned village. Anakin cursed to himself when he realized that he would have to walk over this to find his companions, then come back and do battle here as well. Half expecting a reprimand from Obi-wan for his language, he stepped up onto the narrow ledge and, balancing on it, shuffled his way back to his ship. Once there, he climbed back in, grabbed his comlink, and keyed it on. He listened for a moment for any telltale noise that would signal a Separatist listening in. He probed with the Force as well, then, finding nothing, began.

"Commander Hunter, this is General Skywalker, do you copy?" he asked, using the name he'd chosen for the clone commander.

For a few seconds there was only static. Then, "General, we thought we'd lost you!"

"Well, in a sense, you did," said Anakin dismally. "My ship was shot down near the Separatist headquarters. I drained the fuel so it wouldn't explode on impact, and I don't think it would fly anyway, so I can't fly to meet you. I can walk, but it will be slow going. The terrain's… difficult."

"We'll be heading toward you, and hope to meet in the middle," said the clone commander. "Walk with your back to the sun, and we should meet somewhere near the edge of the desert. But hurry – the Separatists must certainly have noticed you by now. I can't conceive why they haven't already attacked you!"

"Probably because they're gone," said Anakin. "I took out their headquarters. Either they were killed when I hit the building with my proton torpedoes, or they're not home."

"You hit their headquarters?" the commander asked in amazement.

"At the same moment they hit my ship."

"Well…" the clone was silent for a moment. "Then we are in your debt. This battle should be much easier now."

"It better be. This terrain is horrible. It's not going to be fun as it is."

"What about locals? Are there any other people around?"

Anakin glanced about. "No sign of life that I can see. This area looks deserted."

"Why would that be?" asked the commander.

To Anakin it was simple. "Seps killed them all? Or maybe they fled the village. I would if I were disabled and the village was under separatist control."

"I suppose, sir. At any rate, they are bound to discover you sooner or later. And the sooner we meet up, the sooner we can mount our attack."

"I'm already on my way," said Anakin as he secured his lightsaber and checked his supply belt. Everything he needed was there, so he started walking. "Skywalker out." He turned off his comlink and attached it to his belt, then went on his way, balancing on the narrow walls of the pools. Suddenly, a loud, strident whistling and shrieking startled him nearly out of his skin; he lost his balance on the ledge and splashed into another of the pools. Another curse escaped his lips before he could stop it – the water in this one was downright hot. Biting his lip, he perched himself back on the wall and walked back towards the source of the sound – his ship! Approaching it, he immediately saw what had caused all of the racket: R2-D2 still sat in the wing socket of Anakin's fighter. Anakin could hardly believe he had forgotten the little droid; when Padmé had given Artoo to him, he had promised to "look after" him.

"Must've hit my head a little harder than I thought," he commented to the droid. "Sorry."

Trying to decide what to do with Artoo, Anakin surveyed his surroundings. Finally he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Artoo, but I think you might have to stay here for now."

The droid disagreed violently.

Anakin stepped back and flung his hands into the air. "See for yourself!" he exclaimed. "This whole place is full of pools of water. You can't… roll… through all that – the water would eventually start to wreck your circuits, and you couldn't make it over all of the little walls – and you don't have enough fuel to rocket the whole way!"

Artoo considered for a minute, then reluctantly agreed, though he made it very clear that he didn't like it at all.

"Here," said Anakin, "you fly into one of these abandoned houses and hide there until I come back for you. It won't be long; the battle should be easy enough to win."

The droid tootled sadly as it hid itself inside a derelict-looking shack.

Anakin sighed. "I don't like it either, but you can see as well as I can that it wouldn't work for you to come along. This planet's no place for droids."

The droid shot back something in response.

"I know there's battle droids here, but they can step over the ledges, and their circuits aren't at vulnerable to prolonged water exposure as yours are. Besides," he added with a grin, "they never last long with me around anyway."

With that parting word, he walked off into the gloom, doing his best to stay out of the puddles.


	7. Chapter 7

**Wars I Disclaimer: own Star not do.**

Reviews make me want to write more and faster!

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The sun had completely disappeared, a pale, greenish moon had risen, and Anakin was still nowhere near the end of his trek. He'd given up trying to stay on the rock walls between pools; it slowed him down too much, and he'd slipped off several times anyway. His boots could only hold out so much water, and his feet were now thoroughly wet. Some pools were hotter than others, causing him to grunt in pain when he stepped into one. Steam rose off the surface of many, explaining the clouds that hovered over this part of the planet; those he avoided altogether. Though he did not know how to account for the teardrop shape, he was fairly certain that these pools were fed by hot springs. This led him to think that the planet might have a volcanic interior, which opened up the possibility of plasma or volcanic mineral mining in the future. He'd had a feeling that there must be some other reason the Trade Federation was interested in it.

A second moon was beginning to rise; this one shone a rather unusual bright red color. It would have looked odd enough on its own, but with the larger greenish-white one already in the sky, it looked quite eerie. Anakin shuddered, despite the warmth of the air. He was beginning to have a bad feeling about this place.

Something bad was going to happen here; he could feel it. He wished he knew what it was, so he could try to stop it. Seconds short of drawing on the Force for more clarity, a thought struck him, and his face colored violently, though no one was there to see it. Perhaps it was better if he _didn't _know what was going to happen; when he tried to stop bed things from happening, it usually turned out worse than it had in the visions. His mind snapped to that image of himself preparing to murder the younglings who asked for his help, then the one of himself choking the life out of Padmé, one of him battling Obi-wan, and finally himself in grotesque black armor. Pain filled his soul, and, to his surprise, anger. He looked inside himself and found terrible, terrible rage at the monster he was to become, hatred for himself. It grew and grew to the exclusion of all else, and Anakin struggled with it and suffered under it. In his mind, the very ground beneath him was rumbling and shaking with the force of his anger and pain.

He didn't realize that the rumbling and shaking was not only in his mind until the ground pitched under him and flung him forward into one of the hotter pools of water. His anger bursting like a bubble, he yelped in pain and got back to his feet as quickly as he could. The ground stopped trembling, but the damage was done; the whole front half of Anakin's body was now soaking wet. He stood still, dripping and feeling his belt to make sure everything was still there. He found nothing missing, but his lightsaber and comlink were now wet, so he quickly found a dry spot on his cloak and dried them off. He briefly ignited his lightsaber to ensure that it still worked, then called his clone army division with the comlink for the same purpose.

"Skywalker here. Did you feel that groundshake?"

"Yes, sir. We did ."

"I think this planet might be volcanic. It's something to keep in mind during the battle."

"Yes, sir," the clone said again, sounding perplexed.

"Skywalker out,' said Anakin, not really wanting to admit that he'd contacted them just to make sure his comlink still worked!

Having ascertained all of these things, he continued on his way; but he soon found that he was getting hungry. He tugged at one of the food capsules on his belt, but it was stuck and wouldn't come. He tried a different one, but it was also stuck. He realized the leather part of his belt must have swollen a bit from the warm water, so he yanked and tugged at all of the food capsules, hoping one of them would come off.

Suddenly, they all sprung free and flew through the air to land in various pools around him. He had managed to hold on to only two of them. Yet another expletive slipped from his mouth as he remembered Obi-wan telling him that there was nothing edible that grew on this planet. He would certainly run out of food before the mission was over. He toyed with the idea of trying to find the food capsules, but even with the light of a third moon, the pools were still too dark to see anything in, and Anakin had neither the time nor the inclination to go crawling around on his hands and knees to locate them by touch. He couldn't even use the Force to find them – food capsules didn't have a strong enough Force signature for him to grasp without being able to see them.

He sighed and decided to ignore his hunger for the time being, instead focusing his attention on the new moon that had risen. This one was enormous, and glowed with a deep, brilliant, bluish-violet light. It appeared as if the surface were made of some sort of fluorescent material. By itself, the moon would have appeared quite beautiful to Anakin, but with the other two already in the sky, the effect was downright spooky. The spectacle was riveting but awful. Anakin shuddered, and the ground shuddered with him.

This was definitely a volcanic planet.

He walked on. Eventually, the moons set, one by one, and the night grew black. Anakin doggedly kept walking, even though he was brutally tired. It wasn't as if there was anyplace here he could lie down and sleep; the ground still consisted entirely of hot water pools.

All night, he kept on, his feet and legs sore and aching, half of his body soaking wet from his fall.

After several more hours, the sun began to rise. As it climbed the sky, obscured by the steam from the hot pools, it cast a lurid light on the whole scene. Anakin began to be able to see the outlines of shadows in the pools.

The sun was high in the sky when Anakin noticed that the pools seemed to be shallower than they had before. He examined them closely. Sure enough – the water level and the depth of the rock basins that held it had decreased significantly. After a few more meters, the pools had become little more than shallow dents in the rock, with a few drops of cloudy water at the bottom. Rings of crusted minerals inside the depressions told Anakin that there was once more water than he presently saw. A few of the little hollows were completely dry; these had a small hole at the bottom, from which the heated water would issue. A few steps beyond that, the rock surface suddenly gave way to brown grass that looked at if it had been steamed, then dried. After that, there was only more dry brown grass, so brittle that it crunched underfoot.

Anakin had reached the desert.

The walking was much easier now, and Anakin's spirits lifted a little, despite the desolation of his surroundings. It was obvious that the planet had once supported a thriving floral ecosystem, though the plants were now all dead and dried. The apparent suddenness of the climate change responsible for killing them served only to confirm Anakin's suspicions about the volcanic interior of the planet.

Anakin suddenly felt the temperature drop several degrees and the air become parchingly dry. He looked around and realized something else was different but couldn't quite place what it was. Finally, it dawned on him: he could see clearly for a great distance. The steam that had thickly surrounded him in the water zone had disappeared.

And on the horizon, he saw a cloud of dust. The clone army had arrived.

He allowed himself to rest for a few minutes, taking the time to eat some of his remaining food to keep up his strength before renewing his march to reunite with his troops.

Having quickly consumed the tasteless protein ration, Anakin began walking again to meet the troops. As he drew closer, he could see the pieces of their white armor and discern the rhythmic pumping of their marching feet. Quite suddenly, an image from the movie he'd seen at Jeff's home assaulted him: himself leading the clone troops in a march on the Jedi Temple. This vision went deeper than the image in the movie, however; Anakin suddenly saw through his future eyes, from his position at the head of the group. He saw the familiar pillars growing closer and knew that this time, he was entering as an enemy. He knew that the Jedi inside would be caught completely off guard and massacred.

And then, he saw the Jedi who would be his first victim.

Frantically, Anakin shook his head and blinked his eyes to try to end the vision, but it would not relinquish its hold on him. He turned and tried to run from it, but it pursued him and flew in front of him, blocking his sight.

"No! No! Go away, please go away!" he wailed in anguish, desperately wishing to be spared what was coming next. But the vision went on. He approached the Jedi and his lightsaber went up, then came crashing down again. Anakin cried out in torture as he beheld the body of the Jedi, saber-burned through the middle on the floor. Tears streaked down his face without his even being aware of them.

Too late, he was ripped from the vision by the chiming of his comlink.

"General Skywalker! Is something the matter?"

Anakin took a deep breath before answering. "No, it's all alright."

"I saw you fall to your knees and thought perhaps you were injured."

Anakin looked down to discover that he was kneeling in the grass. Slowly, he stood back to his feet, repeating, "No, everything's alright. See you in a few minutes."

He ended the transmission, but did not walk any further forward. He just stood, looking at the ground, willing his tears back where they belonged. He had been given a brief reprieve from the horror of his future by being forced to concentrate so hard on the terrain, but now that the ground was easy to travel, the images were returning in full force.

His mind was clouded, his attention stolen from the mission by his fears. He worried that he was not strong enough, that he would fail in the end, just like in the movie.

But his troops were upon him, and he couldn't afford to devote anymore thought to his problems. He slipped back into "General" mode, standing tall and straight to meet them.

Commander Hunter stepped forward. "General Skywalker! You _are_ injured!"

"What?" said Anakin, caught off guard.

"Your head," the clone replied.

Gingerly, Anakin reached up to touch the sore spot near his hairline. A crust of dried blood matted the roots of his hair and stiffened his skin. Reluctantly, he allowed one of the clones to clean the wound and apply bacta to it, doing his best to ignore the sting and throbs of pain that accompanied the procedure. While the clone worked, Anakin told his story to the commander and acquainted him with the nature of the terrain they would be dealing with.

When his wound was dressed, Anakin called the troopers into formation for the main part of their mission. This would be the beginning of the slow attack they would bring on the Separatist forces; Anakin's group, codenamed Captor 1, would march through the desert from their side, destroying any Separatist settlements they found, until they came together with Obi-wan's group, who were most likely already marching in from the other direction. They did not concern themselves with the possibility that any Separatists might escape from the sides, because Intelligence had told them that the Separatists were concentrated within a small area, where the Republic outpost had been. Supposedly, the Separatists had entirely kept to the villages that had already been there, simply adding a few prefab structures where necessary for the comfort of the Neimoidean commanders. Anakin didn't like trusting solely to this information; after all, the people who gave it were the same ones who had told the Republic forces nothing about the nature of the terrain they would encounter. However, it wasn't his battle plan, and he really had no say in the matter, so he decided to keep silent and follow his instructions.

Once the troops were assembled, Anakin addressed them to boost morale.

"This won't be easy, troopers," he told them as they prepared to mount their attack. "We'll be on some of the worst terrain ever fought on. But we will stick to our plan, and we will win this!" He started up the clone commanders' rallying cry. "Find, fix, finish!

And they were off again, back toward the area Anakin had just come from.

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By late afternoon, they had already been back in the steam zone for some hours. Anakin was weary, though not yet exhausted; he hadn't slept in twenty-four hours, and despite the extra "rest" he had had while his ship had been in hyperspace, it was beginning to show. His pain medication was also beginning to wear off, and his headache was returning. He stared dully at the ground as they walked by; he knew he was being a bad example and dragging down morale, but he couldn't help it. Besides, it wasn't as if any of them could see more than a few feet through the thick fog.

Then it struck him. With their lack of vision, they could be passing their enemies right by and not even know it! Separatist droids could be filing in behind them, ready to ambush, and they would be caught, totally unsuspecting! Anakin nearly pulled out his comlink to discuss the situation with Obi-wan, intending to call off their attack, but he remembered the Force just in time. Of course! He could use the Force to identify any living creatures that were nearby! But that required his constant attention. He sighed, Force-checked behind the marching clones, then took his place again at the head of the line, scanning the area for hostile entities. He found nothing.

The troops continued onward without a word of complaint about the hot-water pools, but Anakin could feel tension and irritation among them. Even clones weren't completely emotionless; they, too, could be bothered by poor fighting conditions.

If clones couldn't be entirely emotionless, then how come the Jedi Council expected Anakin to? It just wasn't fair…

…Anakin felt a tiny tremor under his feet. There was definitely volcanic activity going on down there. Anakin wondered how long it would be before the crust broke and the volcanic matter came spewing out. He hoped it wasn't until after the mission was complete; thinking of what had happened in the movie made him want to avoid volcanoes.

They walked on, Anakin keeping a Force-watch for hostile presences and finding none. It wasn't until evening that he felt the Force give that familiar hint that something was out there. Then, suddenly, a battle droid appeared through the gloom. Anakin rushed ahead and cut it down, but it had already seen them and alerted its nearby companions. It was only a small outpost, however, and the skirmish was over in a matter of minutes. All thirty battle droids were destroyed, and only two clone troopers were injured; none were killed. So far, the mission was going fairly well.

Under Anakin's instruction, they scanned the area where they had fought until they found the remains of another abandoned village, just as Anakin had found in the area where his ship had gone down, only with many more buildings. They made camp and spent the night here, soldiers cramming themselves into the tiny shacks. They weren't bothered by the lack of space; it was barely different from the living conditions they were used to. They settled down to sleep, knowing that this was one of the few places on this part of the planet that offered a surface above the pools of heated water.

But sleep did not come to Anakin, despite the fact that he had a separate hut to sleep in; instead, worry filled his mind. There was something disturbing about this planet, something more than came at first glance. Something bad would happen here; he could feel it. And then there was the knowledge he had gained at Jeff's house. The near-constant monitoring of his emotions was starting to wear on Anakin, even as he worried about what would happen if he released them. Concern for Padmé also occupied his mind: Was she all right? How long would it be before she discovered that she was carrying their child? Perhaps she already was and simply wasn't aware of it. And would he really spend five months away from her, fighting in the Outer Rim? If so, then he had most likely begun that time already.

His worries making him restless, Anakin got up and walked about, balancing carefully on the walls of the pools. There was something calming about following the narrow lines of rock in their scalloped pattern, and he walked for a long time, meandering aimlessly throughout the camp until the moons rose. The weird colors unsettled and disturbed him, especially the violet one. It chilled his soul somehow, and he shivered. He returned to the hut that had been designated for him and hid himself from the unnatural glow. Sleep still fled from him, so he settled into a sort of meditation instead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I got so tired of writing this that I decided to hire someone else to do it for me. So, here it is….**

**The owner of Star Wars, this author is not.**

My everlasting thanks to Yoda for writing my disclaimer for me.

Yes, I know it's been a very long time since I've updated. Two whole weeks, but I've been in the process of getting a beta reader. So, yeah, just live with it! And review! Please!

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One good thing about the steaming pools was that they made a hot bath possible. After all three moons set, Anakin left his meditation, walked a short distance off from the camp, then wandered about and tested the pools until he found one with a comfortable temperature. Then, sequestered from the rest of the camp by the thick mist, he shed his clothing and washed himself with a cloth from one of his belt pouches. He had to hold his clothes out of the water in one hand while rubbing the warm water over his body with the other. That wasn't the easiest thing to do, but the water still felt good, soothing his stiff limbs and rinsing away the sweat from the previous day's trek. He had nothing to dry off with, but he felt quite refreshed as he dressed again and made his way back to the camp.

There was a faint glow at the edge of the mist. The sun was rising and the camp was in motion. Soon, they would move out and begin their journey anew. Anakin felt all of the worries that his bath had soothed away returning, just as potent as ever, but he forced them out of his mind and focused on a broad scan for enemies as they set off.

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The next three days turned out to be repeats of the previous day. Marching all day, searching for hostiles with the Force, a small battle here, a skirmish there. Each day was spent slogging through the water, straining to see through the thick fog, constantly on the alert for enemies that were never there. Anakin began to feel that this whole mission was a waste of time. The Separatists must have come to this planet, killed the few citizens, then decided they disliked it as much as Anakin did. They'd probably abandoned it and left a few stray groups of battle droids to distract the Republic. That's what this was – a decoy! Anakin felt his blood grow hot as he thought of how he was stuck here, trying to take this useless planet from Separatists that didn't appear to even be there in the first place, while the real war was being conducted somewhere else. And then there was the matter of his precarious future. He wasn't helping himself or Padmé at all out here. It was beyond frustrating!

But the rumble that came from the ground, spreading ripples throughout all the pools of water, reminded him that this planet, as unimportant as it seemed, could someday be a great asset in the war or otherwise. So he kept on.

It was harder and harder for Anakin to maintain a good attitude, however. He was tired from the constant marching and near-sleepless nights, and hungry because his food had run out. He refused to ask someone else to share some with him, because he knew he could do without it better than they could. He had the Force; they did not. But though the Force could provide him with energy, it could not comfort his empty stomach. The last of his pain medication had also long since worn off, and while the pain was not incapacitating, his forehead was still quite sore from when it had slammed into his fighter's steering wheel.

Despite the tight rein he attempted to keep over his emotions, he began to feel his control slipping. Knowing it was happening and being helpless to stop it only made him angrier and more frustrated. Several times each day, he found himself fairly stomping through the puddles on stiffened limbs, his fists and jaw clenched tightly to restrain his rage at this planet, himself, the Council who had sent him here, and everything in general.

The groundshakes were happening more frequently, too. Anakin began to think that perhaps the superheated rock and gases that presumably made up the interior of the planet were pushing nearer to the surface and would soon break through. All the more reason to get off this Force-forsaken planet.

It was the fourth day out, and Anakin was in one of his moods, kicking viciously at the hateful water, a scowl on his face, fists balled up and thrust stiffly down at his side. Suddenly, his foot hit the rock wall of one of the pools instead of the water, jamming his toe quite hard. He swore loudly, waves of pain and anger radiating through his body. He could feel the eyes of his troops on him from behind their helmets, and his face burned red.

Suddenly, the ground heaved violently, toppling most of the clones to the ground. Anakin himself splashed into a pool for the second time during the trip, tearing his elbow on the rim. A few spirals of blood diffused into the water from the scrape.

The ground continued to move for a few minutes, though the motion had slowed to a gentle rocking. When it was still again, the clones began picking themselves up out of the water, groaning as they did so. Anakin stood and surveyed the damage to his elbow. His sleeve was torn, and his skin was scraped and bleeding, but the damage wasn't too serious. He quickly got out his small tube of bacta and tended to it.

"What now, General?" asked one of the clones. "Will these quakes continue to happen throughout the mission?"

"Yes," said Anakin, trying to sound patient. "In fact, I think they'll get worse. I believe this planet is volcanic and that there's probably going to be an eruption soon."

"Is there anything we can do to stop it from coming while we're here?"

Anakin glared and chewed his lower lip, knowing the trooper meant, _Is there anything _you_ can do about it._

"Actually, no. I can't think of any way to stop a planetary phenomenon, can you?" he said sarcastically. As if to back up his words, the rock surface trembled slightly again. "So let's get moving! The sooner we finish this job, the sooner we get off this rock!"

So they marched.

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Several hours later, Anakin suddenly began feeling uneasy. The sun was nearing the horizon again, and the mist was clearing a little. There was nothing that Anakin could see as a threat, but the further they went on, the worse he felt. He stopped his troops and held them silent so he could think, without any distractions.

But the noise of splashing feet behind didn't stop. Anakin turned and looked, but all of the clones had come to a halt. Then he realized that the sound was coming from ahead. He put a hand on his lightsaber and ordered his troops to prepare for battle. A wind blew through, clearing the mist, and he saw the line of marching troops in the distance. There were many more of them than Anakin's group had encountered yet – even if he counted the droids from all four days of the march. The breeze swirled the mist in a different direction, and the army in front of Anakin was obscured. Instead, he saw tall dark squarish shapes to his right. A village. He could use it to the advantage of his group – or there could be an ambush waiting inside. When the fog in from of him cleared again, Anakin quickly estimated how long it would take the other army to reach them – another hour, at least – then selected a few clones to accompany him on a scouting mission.

They crept toward the village as quietly as they could, the clone's white uniforms blending in with the fog and transforming them into wraiths of the mist. Anakin himself was a dark shadow, a ghost of night stealing among the silent buildings. His danger sense rose slightly at the thought, and that confused him. What, was he afraid of himself? When he thought about it, the answer chilled him: _yes._ He always had been, he just hadn't realized it. It had taken the knowledge from the movie at Jeff's house to bring him to this point. The thought somehow filled him with a terrible awe.

He crept on anyway, his sense of fear heightening with each step. What was going on, anyway? There must indeed be enemies waiting for them inside these abandoned shacks on their short stilts. Anakin grabbed the arm of the nearest trooper, then told him to communicate to the others to wait at the foot of the nearest building. Quick, quiet, and catlike, Anakin jumped up onto its roof and landed with a soft thud. Examining it closely, he discovered that the building had been thrown together with a variety of materials. Large pieces of cheap plastoid that had probably been brought with from the home planet of the person who had built the hut, some ancient, rotting wood that appeared to have come from the planet – further proof that it had not always been the barren world it now was – and even pieces of vehicles! It was very slipshod and rickety, obviously the work of unskilled hands, and Anakin was surprised it was supporting his weight at all.

It didn't have to for very long, however. Anakin put his lightsaber hilt to the roof, then quickly cut a hole and dropped through it into the single dark room below. He quickly discovered that the room was crammed full of… air. Damp smelling, silent air. There was nothing else at all in the hovel.

Almost disappointed, he opened the door, which was hinged with what had most likely once been vinyl seat covers in some vehicle, and dropped to the ground with a splash. The was a hollow thud as the door fell shut behind him, and Anakin waited for any response from the village.

None came.

Apparently, the enemies were hidden further in.

They continued their walk through the little settlement, until Anakin heard a small nose and stopped them all. He stood quietly, lightsaber drawn but not ignited. There it was – a small, mechanical noise coming from the hut in front of them and to their left. He knew that sound – it was a droid's servomotor. There were droids attempting to hide inside – most likely common battle droids and not supers; super battle droids were smarter and probably wouldn't have made the noise and alerted them. Emboldened by this knowledge, Anakin silently led his scouts around to the front of the shack, then stepped forward, flung open the door, and jumped in, igniting his lightsaber. A blast of electricity rushed across the skin of his chest, and he fell back into the arms of one of his clones. His eyes were squeezed shut from the pain, but he heard a buzzing, trilling, beeping, gurgling noise that was quite familiar to him. His eyes popped open.

"Artoo! Blast it, Artoo, what'd you zap me for? That hurt!" he exclaimed, though his pain was quickly dissipating. Anakin listened to the beeping response.

"You thought I was a battle droid? What battle droid do you know of that carries a lightsaber?"

Artoo dodged the question by asking why Anakin had it ignited.

"Because I thought _you _were a battle droid!" Anakin replied, his indignation swallowed by the joy he had at seeing his droid again, safe and sound. The little droid beeped again.

"No, I'm afraid we're not done here yet," replied Anakin. "We came in here trying to find the Separatists and prevent them from attacking us from the side and the front at the same time."

Artoo informed Anakin that there were no Separatists in the village right now, but that a lot of droids had come through the village two days ago.

"Hmmm," said Anakin. "Which way did they go?"

Artoo swiveled his indicator light in the direction that Anakin's starfighter would have been.

"Blast," said Anakin. "They'll have seen my fighter. Did they take it, Artoo?"

The little droid said that he didn't know, the mist had been too thick and he hadn't gone closer for fear of showing himself.

Anakin sighed. "Stay here, Artoo," he said, his frustration growing. If the Separatists had been able to hack into his fighter's recording system, they could have overheard his conversations with Obi-wan about their battle plans. He rushed over to search for the fighter. After a few minutes of searching, however, he found it; it did not appear to have been disturbed in any way. Anakin breathed a sigh of relief; the droids had either missed it in the fog or not thought it worth examining. In case more droids came through, Anakin set to work to destroy the recordings. It took some time to work his way through the machinery to the point where he could access the recording box. Upon finding it, he neatly quartered it with his lightsaber, then realized he had could hardly have made his presence more obvious to any watching eyes than if he had carved the words, "_Anakin Skywalker is here!_" in the ground. Fortunately, no one seemed to be watching at the time, for no attack came. Anakin quickly worked the pieces into one of the pools beneath his fighter, then did his best to put the insides of his fighter back into something resembling a normal order.

Suddenly, he looked at his chrono. "Blast!" he exclaimed. "That other army will be here by now!" He hurriedly repeated his instructions to Artoo to stay hidden in the shack, then took off with his scout group back to the rest of his army.

They dashed through the puddles, splashing loudly. Just as they cleared the village and their companions were in sight, Anakin caught his foot on the wall of a pool and went facedown in the water, drenching his front for the third time on that mission. He lifted his face out of the water with a curse, then was grabbed and hauled to his feet by someone who was not a clone. He whirled around to see his assailant and came face to face with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Anakin's first reaction was to blush a flaming red at what his Master had just heard him say.

"I-I… I thought the other army had come and we were under attack. I thought I was too late."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "What other army?"

"The army I saw coming toward us an hour ago. If they're not here now, they'll be here any minute!"

"Oh, they're here,' said Obi-Wan.

"Then why aren't we fighting?"

"Because I led them here, Anakin. It was my group, Captor Two, that you saw approaching!"

Anakin opened his mouth wide, then laughed sheepishly at his mistake. "This mist… it's so hard to see anything…"

Obi-Wan chuckled at his discomfiture. "Oh, sure, blame it on the mist,' he teased. "Actually, the reason I came over here is that we all thought you were a party of battle droids."

"Master, there's six of us."

"But we couldn't see you coming, and you were making enough racket for an entire division, splashing through like that."

"We were in a hurry," said Anakin.

"I see," replied Obi-Wan. "Well, if you'd like to join the rest of us, we can decide what to do next. Our plans have not gone as expected; we've fought a few skirmishes, but not seen nearly enough droids to occupy a planet or even take out a fortified Republic outpost. I can only assume that there must be more here, somewhere on this planet."

"Same here," Anakin told him. "But I think I know which way they went." He relayed what Artoo had told him.

"That's where the Republic outpost originally was!" exclaimed Obi-Wan. "Their headquarters was supposed to be in the village you just came out of."

"It was," said Anakin, "before I demolished it."

Obi-Wan shook his head in mock dismay. "I told you to pull out, Anakin."

"Well, I was just so close, I couldn't resist…"

"Crashing your fighter? Or was Commander Hunter lying about that?"

"I didn't crash my fighter – the Separatists did!"

Obi-Wan pretended to look perplexed. "Ah, but why were the Separatists flying your fighter?"

They both laughed good-naturedly and continued their banter as they walked back to the rest of the army.

Once they reached the troops, however, the conversation turned serous again. They had to decide on their next step. They deduced that the Separatists were now using the old Republic outpost as their headquarters, a thought which irritated Anakin deeply.

"But who is leading them now? Battle droids can't think independently, so they can't have taken over leadership. Can they?"

"I don't think so," replied Obi-Wan thoughtfully. "I imagine they would have had to have reinforcement commanders brought in, but our ships in orbit certainly would have put a stop to that, or at least notified us. The other possibility is that – Anakin, don't be offended – they may have somehow survived your attack."

Anakin frowned. "I don't think so – I pretty much leveled the place."

"But the Separatist commanders could have been elsewhere. For all we know, our Intelligence was faulty and their headquarters was the old Republic building all along! The only way to be sure is to return to the site and check for organic remains. As distasteful as that sounds, I believe that is what we must do. If their commanders were there, we will know it."

"Well, let's go then," said Anakin, hoping to get the gruesome task out of the way as soon as possible.

So they went off. It did not take them long to find the site where the prefab building had stood; plastoid and ferrocrete chunks lay in the pools, which were murky with ash. The same materials covered the area where the floor had been, choking the small holes that fed the pools, so the area was now a large square of powdered rock and plastoid sludge. They found a few parts of battle droids, but no trace of a living being. They both reached into the Force for answers, and found no echo of sentient species. The leaders of this Separatist force had not been killed in Anakin's attack.

Anakin angrily kicked a chunk of ferrocrete, sending it sailing and skipping across the pools. "Why couldn't they have been there?" he moaned in frustration. "I was so sure I had gotten them! And I can't believe I was shot down by some lousy battle droids!"

"You did your best," Obi-Wan said trying to calm him. "Now, let's explore a little further. I sense danger near here, but I can't sense the source yet."

Anakin felt the same, but their walk was interrupted by another groundshake.

"Those are happening more and more often," said Obi-Wan. "I believe this planet may have a volcanic eruption in its future. It may even be a candidate for plasma mining."

"Really? What clued you in?" said Anakin sarcastically. He was still upset that his efforts had been in vain.

Obi-Wan gave him a peculiar look, but didn't say anything.

The two of them continued on their way through the village. As on the previous expedition, Anakin's danger sense grew stronger and stronger the further they went. One glance at Obi-Wan told him his mentor felt the same way.

"We're too close. We should go back; we can't handle them all on our own." Obi-wan turned back in the direction they had come, but Anakin caught him by the sleeve and pointed silently between two deserted buildings ahead. There, when the fog swirled aside, Obi-Wan could see the dark shape of a large building of some kind.

"Well, now we know exactly where it is," said Obi-Wan as they hurried away.

When they got back to their clone army, they decided to split up again and attack from both sides as they had originally planned. It was determined that Anakin would take his group, Captor One, in at the front, and Obi-Wan would come around behind with Captor Two and find the back door. Then they would fight their way through until they met in the middle.

As it was growing dark, they traveled to the village to spend the night. Anakin appropriated for himself the shack in which R2-D2 was hidden. He did not sleep at all. His head still ached and his empty stomach growled – he had refused to admit even to Obi-Wan that he had lost all of his food capsules – but more importantly, he had a bad feeling about the upcoming battle. A vague feeling of dread had been hanging over him the entire mission, and now he felt for sure that something terrible would happen during tomorrow's battle. He didn't know what it was, but he thought he should prepare for the worst. He sensed death ahead. Anakin knew that Jeff's movie had indicated that he would live through the next five months and then turn to the Dark Side. But what if it was wrong? He felt so unsure. So, after sitting for a long while with his back to the wall, he turned to Artoo and told him to make a recording. He positioned himself in Artoo's recording range and began:

"Padmé, my dearest, my only love. I come bearing bad news. If you are receiving this message, it is because I… have entered my final battle, and the Force… has seen fit… to take me from you, at least for now. I am so sorry, my love, that I was not able to say goodbye once more, to hold you in my arms and tell you I loved you, to kiss you one last time, though no one kiss could ever be enough to satisfy my desire for you. Please know, though… that I love you… so much… that I can't stand the thought of you being without me anymore than I can stand to be without you. Please know that my last thoughts were for you, will always be for you. Know that even though my life has ended, my love for you lives on. I hope the Jedi are wrong and that there is an afterlife, and that I may meet you there someday. If there is, I will spend every moment until you come missing you. Please, though, do your best to go on… without me, even though it's hard. Just remember, I will be there, waiting for you; my love for you will keep me from fading. My love was always only for you. I remain yours… yours in life… and yours in death… Anakin Skywalker."

He ended the recording, blinking back the tears in his eyes and swallowing the lump in his throat as he thought of Padmé, all alone, grieving him. Perhaps she was already with child, and had never had the joy of telling him? Then she would have to raise her children alone, in the cruel world where she would be scorned for having children and no husband. For no one would believe that he had been her husband – no one except Obi-Wan. The thought of his beloved wife having to bear that burden was too much for Anakin, and he broke down and wept. The release of emotion did wonders for his weary spirit, however, and Anakin felt much better having had his cry than he would have felt had he kept the feelings hidden. It was a lesson the Jedi Council could stand to learn, he thought.

The sun was rising again. Anakin dried his face and began preparing himself to lead his troops into battle. He thought through the recording he had made; it was full of clichés, but they were all true, and he knew Padmé would understand. Having completed this task, he felt ready for the battle ahead, come what may.


	9. Chapter 9

**The author of this fictitious work does not own Star Wars or any part of the Star Wars galaxy, although I'm afraid I don't quite know what that means, despite the fact that the author insists that I am indeed a part of that galaxy. However, there nothing in my programming to suggest any such ownership other than that of Master Anakin and Mistress Padmé, who have kindly asked me to be a part of their household staff. I must say I feel this is quite an appropriate position for me, considering the fact that I am programmed for etiquette and protocol and am familiar in over six million forms of communication – **

-- Thank you for that disclaimer, C-3PO, but that will be sufficient.

Reviews are, as always, welcomed and appreciated.

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Anakin and Obi-Wan quickly assembled their groups and marched out toward the place where Anakin had seen the building the night before. Once they reached that spot, Obi-Wan's took his army off to the side, hoping to skirt around in back of the building and find a back way in. Anakin watched him leave with his troops, but stood with his own for a minute, thinking. That sense of dread was back again, more powerful than ever. He just knew for certain that something terrible lay ahead of him.

But he was the Hero With No Fear. He would go on anyway.

He set his jaw grimly, and this time, it was he who led the rallying cry. "Republic troops! Find, fix, finish!"

The clones joined him in the chant, and they marched off.

There was something different about this day, something that set it apart from any of the other miserable days Anakin had spent on this wretched planet. Today the wind was blowing. It whipped the concealing steam clouds about, sometimes clearing the path ahead of them, sometimes covering it more thickly. It had an ominous feel.

Then there were the groundshakes. The first one, a mild one, occurred just after they set out. Groundshakes were nothing new here, but today they came more frequently than ever. By the time they neared the building, there had been at least a dozen, some more severe, some less. Anakin found this both distracting and worrisome. He thought again of a volcanic eruption, and unwanted images from the end of Jeff's movie unexpectedly filled his mind. He shook the unwelcome visions away.

They had come to the final few meters before the building when suddenly, the ground sloped down in a wide, shallow depression. Teardrop-shaped pools still covered the surface of the ground, but the water in them sloped toward the middle of the hollow, and the ones in the center of the depression had their walls submerged by the water collecting in the bottom of the large depression. The ground rumbled again, and a sound of trickling water and hissing steam followed it. Before his eyes, Anakin saw the water level in the hollow rise just a tiny bit. He realized with a falling sensation that this depression was a fairly recent development; otherwise, it would have been filled up already.

He led his troops along the top of the depression, hoping to find a path along the high ground to the building. As they skirted it slowly, the ground began to vibrate again. This time, it didn't stop. Anakin stood for several minutes waiting for it to cease, but it just kept going. Finally, he decided to ignore the vibration and continued his march anyway.

A few steps further and Anakin began seeing other hollows in the ground some smaller, some larger. Then, at his feet, a huge, broad shallow one appeared. The darkness that was the building lay straight ahead, right in the center of it. Then the mist cleared completely, and Anakin saw with detail for the first time since landing on the planet. The building was tall enough to be visible above the ground for a distance, but the foundation was almost three meters below the actual ground level. There was a wide pool of muddy water around the base of the building, which actually wasn't a building at all, but simply a huge hill of rock holed with many caves, some of which appeared to be quite large. Arm-like extensions of it reached out to the sides of the hollow, as if holding it in place. The mound was shaped strangely, like a fountain of rock leaping up there in the middle of the plain. Anakin instinctively knew that this was what the Republic had used for an outpost. It was incredibly fortifiable and easy to defend; but the Separatists had dislodged the Republic soldiers and now held it. Yet Anakin did not wonder why Intelligence had failed to provide them with this valuable information.

He was too busy looking at the bodies.

Mangled bodies of the innocent inhabitants of the planet were strewn throughout the pit. The stench of death hung in the air. Anakin could see some of their faces from where he was standing. A man who had been blind now stared with fixed, white eyes up at the cruel sky. The fingers and toes of another man were twisted and deformed or missing. There was a woman with some sort of skin disease, and a teenage boy whose muscles had wasted away, leaving only skin and bones. A young girl of perhaps eight years had eyes that were slanted in an unusual way due to a well-known but incurable genetic disease. All had been holed by blaster bolts – bolts form the blasters of droids controlled by the Separatists. Anakin wished he could be sick.

Instead, his veins suddenly burned with a furious anger. Rage at the Separatists for taking these hopeless, helpless, miserable, pathetic, harmless, innocent lives. These poor, crippled people who asked nothing of anyone, who had sequestered themselves from the rest of the galaxy so as not to be a burden. They couldn't have caused trouble for the Separatists, nor could they have possessed anything that was worth taking form them. These people had had nothing._ Nothing._

These people had been viciously gunned down simply because they were there, then intentionally displayed here for the Grand Army of the Republic to find. Anakin felt his wrath boil up in him, and he just had to do something to release the pressure. He thrust his fists down at his sides and screamed at the top of his lungs.

And then the ground shook and heaved violently, throwing every clone trooper to his knees. Anakin, too, fell to the ground, crying out in pain from the impact. Steam hissed around them, and the water into which they had fallen grew hotter. At first Anakin thought he was imagining the increase in temperature, but he changed his mind when he found himself howling with the pain of his scalded hands and lower legs. He waited desperately for the ground to stop moving so he could get out of the boiling hot water, but the motion didn't stop. The ground just kept gently rocking up and down, up and down like the waves of an ocean. Anakin slowly and carefully got to his feet and balanced precariously on the rims of the pools. Swaying with the rocking of the ground, he drew his lightsaber and addressed his troops one more time before the real battle began.

"Soldiers of the Republic!" he thundered, his fury flowing through his voice. "This is where it ends! The Separatist invasion stops here, now! We will crush them, punish them for this abomination! The people responsible for this slaughter of the helpless and innocent must die! Now! Find, fix, finish!"

The clones gave their grunted response, but Anakin didn't hear it as he was suddenly struck down by the force of his own words: _The people responsible for this slaughter of the innocent must die._

Had he himself not destroyed an entire village in avenging his mother's death? Certainly, he had had reason to attack the men, but the women and children had done nothing; yet he had mercilessly mowed them down, just as the Separatists had done to the cripples. Anakin was mortified; he stood in silence, shame and guilt washing over him in waves in time with the heaving of the ground. It was as though the planet, Anakin's breathing, and his emotions were all synchronized somehow, and he stood, unable to move, all while knowing that he must lead his troops on.

Then his rage burned its way through again, although this time it was directed at himself as well. He suddenly thought of this attack on the Separatists as symbolic revenge for the Tuskens as well as for the massacred cripples. And with that, he was able to go on.

He ran down the gently swaying slope to the base of the rock mound, his troops following behind him as quickly as they could. Anakin knew it was a bad idea to simply charge in that way, especially without knowing where Captor Two was, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. He was running at the Separatist entrenchment, springing from pool to pool before the water had time to scald his feet.

He reached the largest cave and ran inside, not even slowing his pace until he came across a group of battle droids. They fired in vain; Anakin deflected each bolt with his lightsaber and blew them to pieces. Every droid was gone by the time the clones began arriving in the rock mound.

The caves in the mound were laid out with such order, it seemed that some sentient being must have designed it that way. There was a long hallway of a cave running down the middle, with "rooms" branching off from either side – much as a human would build. Many of these "rooms" even had doors built onto them. The entire interior of the tunnel had been paved over with smoothed grey duracrete, offering a welcome relief from the endless pools of warm water that covered the ground they had marched over for so long. The only thing that hinted that the tunnel had not originally been built by humans was that it sloped down, going below the actual surface of the planet. Anakin followed this main hallway down the building, checking each room for battle droids. Sometimes, a group of them would emerge from a cave in front of Anakin, sometimes he would find some in a room as he looked into it. But there still were not nearly enough of them to satisfy Anakin's need to destroy them – or his unease. There were still not even close to enough battle droids to have defeated a Republic garrison holding the natural fortress through which Anakin now traveled. He felt certain that there was a trap somewhere in here, waiting for him.

He was beginning to regret having come in here without Obi-wan.

Suddenly, a horrible thought came to him. Of course! How could he have been so stupid! He turned and rushed back through the masses of clones who were pouring into the rock complex – following Anakin's lead. Now Anakin ran back through their midst, shouting, "Turn back, turn back!"

But when he reached the doorway of the huge rock mound, he saw it was already too late. Thousands of super battle droids had issued from the extended arms of the rock mound and were now in tight formation around the edged of the shallow pit in which the rock hill was situated. Anakin had walked – or run – right into the simplest of traps, and he had taken his entire army of clones with him. He cursed violently.

The Separatists had obviously been reinforced since the Intelligence report – if that had even been accurate to begin with. Now Anakin and his troops were surrounded by more droids than they could ever hope to destroy. If Obi-wan arrived soon, they might still have a chance, but if he came too late, the Separatists could easily win the battle.

Anakin tried frantically to come up with some kind of plan, but that only made his head hurt again; he could think of nothing. Then the droids opened fire, and clones began dropping like ripe fruit from a tree in the wind. They did their best to return fire, but the droids had the advantage, both in numbers and in position. They could fire down on the clones, whereas the clones had to fire up to hit the droids. While firing away, the droids began to descend into the hollow, drawing the circle smaller and smaller. Anakin did the only thing he could think of.

"Retreat! Retreat!" he shouted, beginning to back into the rocky mound. At least there, they would have some protection. Perhaps they could even find places to hide and ambush the droids.

The clones followed him back into the natural fortress that had once belonged to the Republic, but the droids came on faster, cutting them down by the dozens. Anakin felt absolutely awful. It was his fault they were down here, his fault that these clones were being slaughtered. He urged them back into the relative safety of the mound, but he just wasn't fast enough. Already half of them had succumbed to the droids' fire.

He tore down the main hallway again, the clones following close on his heels. As he ran, he used the Force to look ahead on the path, scoping out a place to slip up into so they could rain down fire on the droids and possibly find a way of escape. Just as he located a side tunnel that would do, more blaster fire erupted, and more droids marched out of that very tunnel. Anakin screamed a curse into the air, and began swinging his lightsaber in a whirl of blue light, blocking blaster bolts from both sides. The droid onslaught slowed as they were hit with a double portion of their own blaster bolts, but as deadly as Anakin was, there was only one of him. And he could do nothing for his soldiers; they had fought bravely, but the droids from outside were closing in.

Anakin fought on, until he realized with a shock that there were only a handful of troops, perhaps twenty, left. He saw the hundreds of battle droids still surrounding them, and knew it was a lost cause. It had all happened so fast.

The number of clones down to fifteen, then ten. And suddenly, the blaster fire stopped. Those few clones kept shooting for a few seconds, destroying several of the super battle droids, but Anakin commanded them to stop. He knew the droids must have been ordered to hold their fire, and there had to be a good reason for that. And he wanted to find out what it was.

The situation was eerily reminiscent of Geonosis. The droids all lowered their weapons, just as they had done on that day. Anakin half expected to hear the voice of Dooku ringing out at him, telling them to surrender or die.

Then there _was _a voice. It wasn't Dooku's, but it demanded the same choice.

"Never!" shouted Anakin. "I will never surrender to you!"

"Pardon me," said the voice, sounding smooth, silky, and lilting, from somewhere outside the forest of battle droids, "but I was actually talking to your men, not you. You _will_ be a prisoner, at least for a while. Your only choice is whether you will surrender now – which I would highly recommend, as it will result in longer life for your troops – or later, which I strongly do _not_ recommend."

"No!" growled Anakin through clenched teeth. Every fiber of his being revolted against the idea. He, Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear, surrendered to no one!

Then a memory came filtering into his consciousness.

_You're a very prideful person. _

It seemed like ages since he had heard it, but in reality, it had been only a little more than a week.

_You've got to learn to let go of that ego, son…_

Anakin's world seemed to have temporarily stopped, granting him a welcome reprieve, some time to think, to consider again the words of the man whose home he'd visited. Perhaps this was one of those situations in which pride was his enemy. Maybe, if he surrendered now, he could find some way to contact Obi-wan. He might even have an opportunity to escape with his few remaining clone troops; at any rate, surrender would buy _them _more time.

The world switched on again, and Anakin sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. He was suddenly aware of how tired he was, and how hungry – another result of his pride, he now recognized. Worries about Padmé and about his future came fluttering in as well, but he pushed them out of his mind; he had plenty to worry about right here and now. Waiting for the owner of the mysterious voice to appear, he instead focused on possible outcomes, weighing the options in his mind and plotting his escape. He also took the time to send a thought message to Obi-wan, warning him of the great number of droids and of the fact that he and his ten troops were trapped.

"So, what is your decision?" The forest of battle droids parted to reveal the speaker. It was a female of a species Anakin had never seen before. She resembled a human, but her skin was a pasty gray, except for her lips, which even without paint were a brilliant red. Her half-lidded eyes were a startlingly bright green, and her face was long and almost rectangular. Her thin body was swathed in a black shroud of fabric that glittered as she moved; the material was entirely covered with tiny, smooth, shining black scale-like sequins. Her expression bespoke utter boredom, and her long, slender, nail-less grey fingers were twined together in front of her in a relaxed manner. Something about them disturbed Anakin; there seemed to be too many of them. Or maybe it was just an optical illusion. He had a sudden, absurd desire to try to count them, but refocused his attention on the present situation.

"Will you surrender now, or later?" she asked in a mocking tone.

Anakin glanced around defeatedly, then opened his fingers and let his lightsaber fall to the floor. He could just hear Obi-wan's lecture. _This weapon is your life, Anakin…_

A flick of the woman's finger, and a battle droid picked the weapon up and delivered it to the woman. Anakin instantly regretted it; he knew that surrender had been the best option at the moment, but holding on to his lightsaber would have made him feel so much better. He watched with jealous distaste as she almost reverently folded her serpentine fingers around the hilt. The fingers spread in such a way that Anakin could see each one, and now he did count them. _Ughh._ There were seventeen. Whether the woman had lost one or her species simply were born with asymmetrical hands, he neither knew nor cared; he found it revolting.

As a droid pulled his wrists behind his back and fastened them in electrobinders, he tried to console himself with the thought that he could get his lightsaber back with the Force whenever he needed it, though the thought of holding it after it had touched the woman's skin was rather off-putting.

By now, the battle droids had disarmed the clones and bound them as well, and the woman turned in a silent command for them to follow her. As she walked ahead of him, Anakin noticed that she was barefoot; her toes were long and flexible like her fingers, and of all the same length. Her toes also numbered seventeen. Anakin shuddered.

They all followed her to a room deep within the complex. This room, paved like the main hall, had also been reshaped like a normal room, and the walls were covered in the same duracrete as the floor. It was like being inside a cold, gray stone box lit by old-fashioned fluorescent lights. The battle droids that had accompanied them lined the clones up along the wall next to the door. Anakin was taken to the other side of the room by four super battle droids, who jerked him into a position against the wall to the right, turning him so he faced at a right angle to the clones and holding him there, their metal appendages digging into his flesh and bruising his arms. The woman stood against the opposite wall, facing Anakin. With exaggerated motions designed to taunt him, the woman placed Anakin's lightsaber on the floor at the base of the wall, then stood in front of it, a sickening smile distorting her angular gray face and exposing her teeth, which were pointed and also gray.

They waited like that for a long time. Anakin's head ached brutally from strain and fatigue, and his empty stomach burned. The woman impatiently flexed her sinuous fingers and toes, causing them to writhe like worms; Anakin looked away in disgust.

Then, footsteps were heard in the hall, and six Neimoidians dressed in what must have been intended to be high-ranking military garb walked into the room, accompanied by an escort of super battle droids serving as bodyguards. With many a nervous glance at Anakin, the Neimoidians filed across the room and stood against the remaining wall. The woman flowed across the room and shut the gray metal door.

"Now," she addressed Anakin, with sinister delight, "we can begin our little demonstration. These commanders are completing their training today; they have learned how to take a planet over, and how to hold it once they have taken it. Now, they will learn what we do with captured Republic… _heroes_." She emphasized the word contemptuously. "I must confess, I myself do not fully understand the reason for this ceremony, but it has been ordered by the head of our forces himself. You, Hero, should be honored; he designed this particular show especially for you."

Many feelings battled for Anakin's mind, but honor was not among them.

"You have shown respect for the lives of your troops," she continued, a truly hideous tone creeping into her voice. "Just what one would expect of a _Jedi_," she sneered. "Unfortunately, your noble efforts to keep them alive have been totally in vain." She stepped forward. "Turn him, and hold his head still!" she shouted, and the four droids holding Anakin yanked him around so he could clearly see all of the troops and the woman in his line of sight. He felt his head firmly grasped in cold, hard metal hands. The woman flashed him an enormous, evil smile, then quickly pulled a blaster from her robes and shot the first trooper. Anakin watched in shock as the clone fell to the ground, dead. His dying cry in the Force stabbed through Anakin's soul

"Yes," the woman said with false sadness. "Every… single… one… of… these… soldiers… will… die!"

With each word, she gunned down another clone, until all ten lay crumpled on the floor before Anakin's horrified eyes. He felt every one of them fade into the Force, and it left him reeling.

He was absolutely stunned by the cruelty he had seen. He had not had a close friendship with any of the clones, but still, they were human beings, even if they were cloned. To see their lives ended so purposelessly…

"Don't worry," the woman said, turning to him again. "They died quickly. I promise it didn't hurt – much. And since they were cloned, they didn't feel quite as much of the sickening terror of knowing they're next, as… say, you would feel. Or your partner, General Kenobi. Oh, yes, I know about him. I'm sure he and his bunch of test-tube soldiers are looking for the back way in right now, aren't they?" she said derisively. "There isn't one. That's the major flaw of this place – there is no way out. Fortunately, we were able to trap that pitiful band of troops your Republic had here inside, much the way you are trapped now. In a short while, Kenobi will be joining you down here, and you may both witness the deaths of however many of his troopers he brings with. Then, all I will need to do is to decide which one of you to kill first."

Anakin's anger rose again, and his thoughts went to his lightsaber.

Seeming to read his mind, the woman smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't try for your little light sword if I were you. The moment I give the command, the droids will gun you down, just the same as they gunned down your men there. Anyway… where was I? Oh, yes! I can't decide if it would be better to kill you in front of Kenobi, or him in front of you. Or perhaps, I should kill you both in such a way that you will die slowly, each knowing that you've failed the other and the Republic. Oh, I can hardly wait until he gets here!

Anakin's anger escalated to just barely controlled rage.

The woman went on. "Then, of course, after you are both dead, we shall riddle your bodies with blaster holes until you both are only just recognizable, then secretly deliver your bodies to the Republic, just to send them a message. Just to let them know that this is what becomes of people who attempt to bring down the Confederacy of Independent Systems."

Anakin's blood boiled, and it was all he could do to physically restrain himself from lashing out at anything and everything in his way.

The rocking of the ground, which had been less noticeable inside the rock mound, began growing greater again.

The woman wasn't even fazed. Her sadistic grin widened yet further, until it seemed to split her face. "But for your sake, I will allow a little side trip before you are delivered to the Republic. First, I will take both of your mangled bodies and parade them before your beloved wife…"

Shock drained the blood from Anakin's face.

"Oh, yes, I know about her, too. I know you think you've been secret, but these things do get around. In fact" –

Anakin's rage burned into fury hotter than his lightsaber's blade, and he could no longer hold himself back. It was bad enough for this woman to threaten him and Obi-wan, but to suggest traumatizing his wife that way was worse than despicable. Anakin's electrobinders shattered and his wrists were freed; in the same instant, his lightsaber flew into his hand. Within one second, the battle droids restraining Anakin were reduced to chunks of glowing metal, and he was hurtling through the air towards the woman. She had just enough time to regret underestimating Anakin's abilities and leaving his lightsaber within reach by the Force before the bar of blue energy sliced through her body three times, ending her life.

Anakin whirled through the droids like a spinning globe of fire, disintegrating them and coming back to mince the pieces before they even fell to the ground. He knew nothing but ferocious, searing anger and hatred for the metal monstrosities and the sick, twisted woman who had controlled them. He was just vaguely aware of a couple of the Neimoideans tumbling past him, attempting to flee the room. One of them rolled under his feet, and he crashed to the floor, scoring it with his lightsaber. He swore as he picked himself up, but all of the droids in the room already lay in molten pieces of scrap metal.

He became aware that the floor was heaving violently up and down, and that it was becoming oppressively hot in the room. He began making his way toward the door, drawing heavily on the Force to keep him upright. He passed the body lying of the woman lying in pieces on the floor and was suddenly wracked with guilt. He had killed in anger again, just like with the Tuskens, only this time, most of the casualties were droids, simply because mostly droids were present.

He stood for a few minutes, balancing on the heaving floor, remorse for what he had done washing over him in waves. Yes, she had been with the Separatists; yes, she had been threatening his life, but that was not why he had killed her. He had killed her simply because she had been so unwise as to anger him to the point of frenzy. He had killed her because, in those few short minutes, he had come to hate her. Such a sadistic monster certainly deserved to die; but as a Jedi, _he shouldn't have done that._ As of yet, he actually had no proof that she had done anything other than threaten him! It was_ wrong._ And he could feel resulting growth of the darkness in him, and it terrified him. He was failing, failing despite the warning the Force had given him.

A cracking sound, coupled with the rising temperature of the room, brought him out of his self-reproach. He looked around him. All but one of the Neimoideans had reached the door and were trying frantically to open it; the other was crawling toward them in a panic. The fluorescent lights flickered and dimmed, and the overall light in the room took on a strange color. A reddish glow was reflected on the ceiling, and Anakin looked down to see brilliant lines of red light filling very narrow cracks that had opened up in the floor. Even as he watched, the cracks widened a little, and new ones, not yet deep enough to show the light, began to appear.

Then Anakin knew that he had to get out of there – fast. He ran as lightly as he could to the door and stepped over the frightened Neimoideans. With three quick strokes of his lightsaber, he sheared through the flimsy metal and sent it crashing to the floor. He almost felt that he should save the Neimoideans as penance for what he had done, but knew that he could never get them all out. He at least had opened the door for them. Concerned now for his own safety, he ran through the door and down the hallway of the rock mound.


	10. Chapter 10

**Please allow me to remind you that this author does not own any part of the Star Wars universe.**

Thank you, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You were my only hope.

Many thanks also to my beta reader, Metruis!

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When Anakin ran from the room, blaster bolts were streaking the hallways once again, which could only mean Obi-Wan had arrived and was trying to save him. Clones and droids alike were falling around him. He shouted until he was hoarse, warning all the clones to get out, and he quickly dissected any droids he encountered, but he did not stop running. Further up here, the ground was still heaving wildly, but the floor remained intact, and the temperature wasn't as high, although Anakin could feel it rising. He realized belatedly that this main tunnel was a passage through which molten lava had flowed a long, long time ago – and was about to flow through again.

Suddenly, he felt Obi-Wan near. He locked onto his Master's Force signature and quickly located him, fighting off seven super battle droids. Anakin came behind them and slashed them to pieces, then shouted to Obi-Wan, "Come on, Master! We have to get out! _Now!_"

Obi-Wan hesitated for one nerve-wracking moment. Even as he returned dozens of blaster bolts to their owners, he shot Anakin a look of curiosity and displeasure. Nevertheless, he followed his old student without a word. They rushed through the tunnel, calling to the few clones still living to get out, deflecting blaster bolts as they ran.

When they finally burst out of the rock mound, it seemed that the entire basin in which it lay was heaving up and down, waves of energy rippling outward from it, cracking the ground around it. Obi-Wan paused, the questioning look returning to his eyes, but Anakin grabbed his arm and dragged him along, past the bodies of the murdered cripples.

"Keep running!" he shouted. "Get as far as you can!"

The water in the pools was boiling. Anakin could feel the skin on his feet and legs scalding and blistering, and Obi-Wan's cries of pain testified to similar trouble. The clones behind them were crying out as well. Anakin looked back to check their progress. A few were catching up, but some of them were still back by the rock mound's entrance. They were slowing down, stopping, screaming in pain; the soles of their boots were melting and sticking to the ground. Many of them fell as Anakin watched. He forced himself to turn around and not look back again.

They ran for all they were worth. Though it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes, it seemed to Anakin that hours passed before the village appeared over the edge of the last depression. He staggered in among the dilapidated, haphazard huts, exhausted and panting. Obi-Wan and the few clones who had been able to keep up followed close behind.

But they weren't safe yet.

"Come on, Artoo!" Anakin shouted. "Get out! Use your jets! You have to get out of here! Now!"

The little droid appeared from inside his shack and jetted off over the heaving ground. They kept on running; in five more minutes, they had cleared the village. By this point, even the Jedi were ready to drop, but they kept running anyway; they knew their lives depended on it.

The vapor that had clouded the world's atmosphere was abruptly gone, whirled away by the suddenly strong winds that scoured the plains. The little pools were dry and empty; the water had boiled away, and no more was flowing in. Instead, the heated water was all being released through the break in the planet's surface, directly under the rock mound.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were several meters past the village when they heard a deep, throbbing rumble, followed by a terrific crack. They all turned back to see the rock mound split in half as a plume of orange lava fountained straight up into the sky. They stopped and stared; Anakin knew they were still too close, but he was riveted to the spot, compelled to watch the disaster unfold.

The lava geyser stopped and receded back into the ground; then the rumbling began again, growing louder like a drumroll. Just when Anakin thought it couldn't get any louder, a huge thundering boom nearly burst his eardrums and flung them all to the ground. The two halves of the mountain were hurled outward into the air, only to crash to the ground a short distance away. The basin in which the rock hill had rested exploded into the sky, and lava and ash rained down, some of it landing mere meters away from Obi-Wan, Anakin, Artoo, and the remains of their army.

The death-cries of many clones assaulted the Jedi in the Force. Anakin nearly doubled over in anguish and pain over the loss of life. Obi-Wan stood at his side in grieving silence.

Ash and lava rained down from the sky around them, tossed on the wind. Every minute, more burning ashes floated around them, burning tiny holes in the Jedi's cloaks and pitting the armor of the clones with little dents of melted plastoid.

Obi-Wan finally straightened and turned, panting.

"It's time to go."

They all took to their heels again in an attempt to stay out of reach of the flying lava, running far out into the plains to escape the fiery destruction.

Once they achieved a safer distance, they stopped to catch their breath and rest. Anakin stood in glum, sullen silence; Obi-Wan scanned the rocky plains for any stray clones.

There were none on any horizon. Obi-Wan then counted those who had survived to escape with the Jedi.

It didn't take him very long.

Anakin was almost frightened by the dull, grayish look on his Master's face as he turned to him.

"Five," Obi-Wan announced, in a stunned flat voice that matched his countenance. "We have only five clones left. All the rest must have been killed."

It took a moment for Anakin to absorb the information. His ears rang with the words, their echoes gathering into a long, slow, deafening roll of thunder. He turned and raised his head to stare in disbelief.

"_Five?_" he roared angrily. "Only _five _survived!! Even a defeat should leave us with more than that!"

Tremors from the eruption across the plain rippled through the ground towards them.

Obi-Wan looked at him dubiously. "I suppose it was a victory, after all," he said thoughtfully.

This only further infuriated Anakin. "Yes!" he spat. "It _was_ a victory. The most pathetic, costly, devastating victory in the history of the Republic, but it was a victory." His tone was vicious. "You think any of the Separatists survived that? You bet your lightsaber not!"

Obi-Wan was looking alarmed, and Anakin knew he was out of control, but he didn't care, any more than he noticed that the ground was shaking vigorously.

"There's only five of us left. All but five of the clones we brought here to this _easy to win_ battle are dead. But we accomplished our mission!" he shouted bitterly. "The Separatist presence is gone! They're all destroyed or dead. Every single one of them!"

The words were familiar; they hit him like a rancor's fist to his gut. They were the very words he'd used when confessing his murder of the Tusken Raiders to Padmé. Anakin broke down. His chest convulsing, he sobbed loudly, not caring who heard. It was just too much, too much for him to handle. The loss of nearly all of the troops, the remembrances of his troubled past, his deed in the rock mound, and his visions of his awful future all came rushing together, sweeping his soul away in a dangerous current of darkness.

"Anakin," asked Obi-Wan, oblivious to the cause of his friend's pain, completely flabbergasted by this outburst, "What is it?"

"_What do you think it is?!"_ screamed Anakin.

The ground suddenly pitched them all into the air. Anakin landed hard on his stomach in the empty rock pools. His knees and elbows were torn, and the wind was temporarily knocked out of him. He was too weak to resist when the rim of one of the pools came up to meet his forehead. Unfortunately, he struck the same spot he'd bashed on the steering wheel of his starfighter. Pain exploded through the already-bruised bone as his skin split again, dripping blood onto the rock. Anakin fought to maintain consciousness. He hadn't been hit terribly hard, but it hurt far worse than a more fatal blow could have. He sat up, reeling from the pain, then made a feeble attempt to stand; it failed, and he plopped back down on the hard ground.

"I hate this planet!" he shrieked.

The ground bucked again; they were too close still to the volcano, but Anakin couldn't get up and run away, not yet. The pain, though it was gradually lessening, still blinded him and weakened his limbs and his resolve. Through his physical and mental suffering, he dimly felt Obi-Wan come to his side and kneel beside him.

"Anakin, calm down," began Obi-Wan.

Anakin just couldn't take "calm down." The word that exploded from his lips would have made a spice pirate blush and cover his ears. His face burned red when he realized what he had just uttered.

To his Jedi Master and best friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan went silent, obviously unsure how to handle Anakin.

The ground again heaved violently, and Obi-Wan pulled Anakin close to him, firmly gripping his shoulders to keep him from further injury. When the ground stilled again, Obi-Wan broke the awkward silence.

"You are very upset and in great pain, so I am just going to pretend I never heard that," he said, his voice stiff. "Now, hold still. This is going to hurt."

Anakin felt something cold and stinging touch his head, and he jerked involuntarily, but gritted his teeth and stiffened his muscled to keep from crying out again or impeding Obi-Wan's work. Then the cool soothing of a bacta patch blanketed the pain, and he relaxed a little.

"Ow," he moaned, and opened his eyes. Obi-Wan's grave but concerned face looked down at him, slightly distorted by pools of unshed tears. "I-I'm sorry… I –" he stammered, blushing red again.

Obi-Wan's face hardened a bit, but he said, "No. I told you, Anakin, it never happened. Now, here. Pain relievers – swallow them."

He gave Anakin two pills, which Anakin choked down. In a few moments, his head had cleared, and he stood up and walked about. The five clones were standing again as well, having been protected by their plastoid armor, and Artoo, who now sported a large scratch in his paint and a dent or two, was attempting to roll out of the empty pool he was stuck in. It would have been comical under other circumstances.

Obi-Wan came up beside him. "Will you be all right?"

Anakin nodded, which caused the pain in his head to spike for a moment. "Yes," he said to cover his discomfort.

"Then we'd better hurry and get you off this planet before you blow it entirely apart."

Anakin stared at his former teacher. "Before _I_ blow it apart?"

Obi-Wan returned his stare. "Do you mean that you really haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" asked Anakin, more than a little indignantly.

"Every time there's a groundshake, it directly follows one of your outbursts of anger. I felt it in the Force not long before the volcano erupted. This planet responds to your anger in the Force, Anakin. I can only imagine that every one of the tremors we have been experiencing since we came here has been in some way connected to your negative emotions. Yes, the planet has a volcanic interior to begin with, but your anger and frustration seem to trigger the volcanic activity."

Anakin's jaw dropped as Obi-Wan _accused _him of being responsible for the volcanic eruption that had killed so many of their troops along with the droids. He felt his wrath building to another explosion when the numerous instances of groundshakes that had disrupted the mission flashed through his mind. Every one that he could remember had indeed been immediately preceded by dark, angry thoughts from him. The worst quake, and eventually the volcano, had followed his act of darkness in the depths of the rock mound. The realization brought him to his knees again.

"Oh, Force," he said faintly, "It was me. I set off the volcano. Our troops are gone because of me!" Despair and horror washed over him. "It's my fault!" he wailed again, his face crumpling with emotion. "If I only hadn't…" His voice was overtaken by sobs again. He raised his overflowing eyes to the sky. "I'm failing!" he cried, his voice choked by tears. "I'm failing!"

Obi-Wan sat next to him, radiating confusion and concern. "Anakin, what do you mean? What are you failing? What's wrong? Please, just tell me!"

Anakin only hid his face in his hands.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

It took great effort, but Anakin managed to regain his composure in a reasonable amount of time. At first, Obi-Wan questioned him heavily about what was bothering him so much, but Anakin refused to speak of it. He could only imagine what would happen to the planet if he shared _that _foreboding tale.

"Not now, not here," he told the older Jedi unhappily. Obi-Wan looked worried, but didn't press him any further.

Obi-Wan sent up a call to the ship for a vehicle that could transport them to the place where his group had left their ships. Now that there were no more droids to vanquish, they no longer needed to walk over the plains, searching for them. Within an hour, a transport large enough for Anakin, Obi-Wan, the five clones, and Artoo appeared to pick them up. They returned to the spot where Obi-Wan's group had left their ships – ships that were now pilotless.

The ARC-170s sat in a mournful line across the plain, some of them tipped at odd angles because of the quakes. Obi-Wan decided that they would have to send a force of clone troopers back at some point to retrieve them, but for the moment, was content with reclaiming his own Delta 7. Anakin spent the whole time deep in thought – which was, in his case, a nice word for 'misery'. His failure with the Separatist leader had opened old wounds as well as forming new ones, and the knowledge that his anger had triggered the devastating volcanic eruption burned him.

He brooded about it the entire flight back to the main ship, where Obi-Wan opted to store his starfighter and enjoy the relative comfort of the larger ship rather than endure the long journey back through hyperspace in the tiny fighter.

As they stepped out of their smaller vehicles and into the hanger of the assault ship, Anakin could feel Obi-Wan's concern for him. It only made Anakin feel more ashamed of the disastrous consequences of his rage.

The Jedi Master guessed his train of thought, and offered an attempt at comfort.

"In the end, Anakin, I suppose it was for the best," he said. "My clones could never have defeated the droids – we were certainly misinformed about their numbers! If the volcano hadn't erupted when it did, the Separatists certainly would have won the contest for possession of this planet. You and I would most probably be dead right now, as well."

Anakin appreciated Obi-Wan's intent, but felt unworthy of the older Jedi's concern, especially since he had yet to inform Obi-wan of his killing of the Separatist woman. He was extremely upset with himself for failing this test of his strength; and knowing it was most likely one of many to come discouraged him deeply. He could only hope he would do better the next time he was provoked. It had just been so many things – his weariness, his hunger, his annoyance with the planet itself, his frustrations with the Council, his headache, his worries. He'd simply had no response left to give other than fury at the threat of such cruelty to his wife.

Anakin's worries multiplied when he considered the implications of that threat. The Separatist woman had known about his marriage! How had that come to be? How many others in the galaxy knew? And who had ordered the woman to stage that hideous, fatal show for him? And why?

The questions floated around and collided with each other in Anakin's brain until they were smashed into tiny, useless, irritating grains of thought, lying in piles inside his aching skull like so much sand, rubbing his brain raw. He was so tired, it was impossible for him to sort things out into any order that made sense. Eventually, he simply left them to sit and focused his attention on the thick mist that pushed at the edges of his consciousness until finally it broke through and invaded his mind.


End file.
